Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an oil painting by the Contemporary Abstract artist Elizabeth Murray. It dates from 1976 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
This painting is a large oil on canvas with bold shapes and colors. It was made by Elizabeth Murray in 1976. The painting's size and shape are interesting - it's almost as tall as a person and just as wide, which makes it feel really big and immersive. You can learn more about this style by looking at the technique of impasto.
Overview
Created in 1976, this untitled work by Elizabeth Murray is an oil painting on canvas that belongs to the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. The canvas measures roughly a meter in both height and width, giving it a near‑human scale that invites viewers into its visual field.
Technique & Style
Murray employs a vigorous impasto approach, building up thick layers of pigment that emphasize the painting’s bold shapes and vivid colors. The tactile surface and saturated hues generate a sense of physicality, while the abstract forms hover between geometric clarity and gestural freedom.
Subject & Meaning
Although untitled, the composition suggests a dynamic interplay of interior and exterior space, with overlapping planes that challenge conventional depth. The juxtaposition of bright, saturated areas against darker zones invites contemplation of balance and tension within abstract visual language.
History & Provenance
The painting entered the Museum of Modern Art’s holdings shortly after its creation, becoming part of the institution’s representation of late‑20th‑century American abstraction. Its acquisition reflects MoMA’s ongoing commitment to documenting the evolution of contemporary painting.
Context
Murray’s work emerged during a period when artists were reexamining the possibilities of canvas shape and surface texture. The painting’s near‑human dimensions and heavy brushwork echo broader trends in the 1970s that emphasized materiality and the painter’s hand as central to artistic expression.
Artist & collection
Artist
Elizabeth Murray was an American painter, printmaker and draughtsman. Her works are in many major public collections, including those of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the…
