Skip to content

Point of Tranquility, 1959-1960, 101 3/4 x 135 3/4 in. (258.2 x 344.9 cm), Acrylic resin (Magna) on canvas, du274

Copyright © 2014 MICA

Rights administered by Artists Rights Society (ARS)

Collection:

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States. Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966

Provenance:

French & Company, New York

Park International, New York

Galerie Lawrence, Paris

Philippe Dotremont, Brussels

Galerie Lawrence, Paris

Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, 1963-1966

Exhibitions:

(E 31): New York: French & Company (cat. no. 7), 1960

(E 75): London: Tate Gallery (cat. no. 163, ill., p. 145), 1964

(E 281): Washington, D.C.: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, 1974–75

(E 366): Jerusalem: Israel Museum; Tel Aviv Museum (cat. no. 8, color), 1980–81

Raleigh, North Carolina: Duke University Museum of Art, Paintings of the 50s: Another Look (pp. 11-12, 19), 3 October - 27 November 1983

(E 435): New York: Museum of Modern Art; Fort Worth, Texas: Fort Worth Art Museum; Washington D.C.: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution (color, p. 131), 1986-1987

(E 480): Atlanta, Georgia: High Museum of Art; San Diego, California: Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; Washington D.C.: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution (cat. no. 16, color, p. 93), 2006-2008

References:

(B 34): Greenberg 1960, bw, p. 27

(B 55): B. A. 1962, color, p. 31

(B 84): Kozloff 1963, p. 91

(B 102): Bowness 1964, bw, p. 194

Sylvester, The Book of Art (1965), bw, p. 286

(B 249): Fried 1970, bw pl. 77

Lerner, Abram, in The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1974), pp. 714–15, color, cover and pp. 516–17

Kramer, Hilton, and Huxtable, Ada Louise, New York Times, 6 October 1974, bw, Section 2, p. 1

Lewis, The Washingtonian, May 1975, color, p. 107

Hudson, Andrew, "Washington Letter," Art International 19, 15 June 1975, p. 98

Russell, The Great Divide 1950–1970 (1975), color pl. XII

(B 359): Carmean September 1976, bw, p. 73

Gatto, Joseph; Porter, Albert; and Sellack, Jack, Exploring Visual Design (Worcester, Massachusetts: Davis Publications, 1978), p. 117

Sandler, Irving, The New York School (New York: Harper & Row, 1978), bw, p. 229

Diamonstein, Barbara Lee, The Artist at Work in America (Washington, DC: I.C.A., 1979), no. 4, p. 4

(B 396): Ronnen 1980, bw, p. N.

Russell, John, The Meanings of Modern Art (New York: The Museum of Modern Art and Harper & Row, 1981), color, p. 360

Parks, Edward, Treasures of the Smithsonian (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Press, 1983), pp. 252, 254-255

Apostalos-Cappadona, Diane, "Dreams and Visions: Religious Symbols and Contemporary Culture," Religion and Intellectual Life 1 (Spring 1984), p. 100

(B 412): Upright 1985, cat. no. 274, color, p.158

Shaw-Eagle, Joanna, "Morris Louis Comes Home," Museum & Arts Washington (May/June 1987), pp. 24-27

Kenner, Rob, "Pen, Palette, Poison," Art & Antiques (December 1987), p. 29

Anfam, David, Abstract Expressionism (London: Thames and Hudson, 1990), 158, bw, p. 196

(B 475): Humblet 2003, color, p. 150

The French & Co. Show of 1960: Originally Curated by Clement Greenberg, Revisited (Santa Fe, New Mexico and Scottsdale, Arizona: Riva Yares Gallery, 2004), exh. cat., color pl., p.17

Remarks:

Although widely reproduced with the date 1958, stylistically this painting clearly belongs with Louis’s work from 1959–60.

To provide additional information about this painting please click here.