Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a graphite drawing by John D. Graham. It dates from 1935 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Created in 1935, this drawing resides in a spiral‑bound sketchbook and combines pencil, ink, and ballpoint pen.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1935, this drawing resides in a spiral‑bound sketchbook and combines pencil, ink, and ballpoint pen. The work is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection and exemplifies the artist’s experimental approach during the mid‑1930s.
Subject & Meaning
The composition features two loosely rendered figures on a brown paper surface. One figure appears reclined, its limbs elongated and a shell‑like form placed on its back, while a small, tangled cube nearby emits radiating lines that suggest movement or vapor.
Technique & Style
Rapid, uneven strokes dominate the image, with a mixture of blue and black lines applied in a spontaneous manner. The drawing’s hasty execution, visible spiral binding, and sketchbook format convey a sense of immediacy, emphasizing the artist’s interest in gestural mark‑making.
History & Provenance
John D. Graham, born Ivan Gratianovitch Dombrowsky in Kyiv in 1887, emigrated to New York in 1920. By the 1930s he was active as a modernist figurative painter and mentor to emerging Abstract Expressionists. This particular sketch reflects his engagement with modernist practices of that decade and is now held by MoMA.
Artist & collection
Artist
John D. Graham (8 January 1887 , Kyiv, Ukraine – June 27, 1961, London, England) was a Ukrainian–born American modernist and figurative painter, art collector, and a mentor of modernist artists in New York City. Born…
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