In a field of bright interwoven marks that capture the searing intensity of sunlight, the bold orange, yellow, and black lines that structure this composition hint at an elusive subject. Delaney made this work decades after he left New York in 1953 for Paris, where he joined a community of African American artists, writers, and musicians. There, he became known for both abstract studies of light and expressionist portraits, two modes he found deeply intertwined. As the artist described, “The scope of painting is so vast. . . . [It] expresses itself sometimes in naturalistic pictures and at other times variable abstractions of color—mostly of the Sun or some form of light.”
Please note that artwork locations are subject to change, and not all works are on view at all times. If you are planning a visit to SFMOMA to see a specific work of art, we suggest you contact us at collections@sfmoma.org to confirm it will be on view.
Only a portion of SFMOMA's collection is currently online, and the information presented here is subject to revision. Please contact us at collections@sfmoma.org to verify collection holdings and artwork information. If you are interested in receiving a high resolution image of an artwork for educational, scholarly, or publication purposes, please contact us at copyright@sfmoma.org.
This resource is for educational use and its contents may not be reproduced without permission. Please review our Terms of Use for more information.
