fbpx
Exhibition

David Park and His Circle

The Drawing Sessions
October 4, 2020–January 18, 2021
Floor 2

Organized to accompany David Park: A Retrospective (Floor 4), this exhibition examines the weekly figure drawing sessions initiated by Park, Elmer Bischoff, and Richard Diebenkorn in 1953. These artists’ gatherings, which expanded during the decade to include additional friends and colleagues, were held in each other’s Bay Area studios with hired models, both male and female. Together, the artists focused on mastering the human form by repeatedly drawing models in various poses, and experimenting with both traditional and alternative materials. The show features thirty-three drawings and two sketchbooks that capture the dynamic and collegial nature of these sessions.


Exhibition Preview

Richard Diebenkorn, Untitled, ca. 1955; Richard Diebenkorn Foundation; © Richard Diebenkorn Foundation
Richard Diebenkorn, Untitled (David Park), ca. 1955–56; Richard Diebenkorn Foundation; © Richard Diebenkorn Foundation
David Park, Nude with Hand on Hip, 1955–58; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, bequest of Lydia Park Moore and Roy Moore; © Estate of David Park; courtesy Natalie Park Schutz, Helen Park Bigelow, and Hackett Mill, San Francisco; photo: Don Ross
David Park, Figure in Chair, ca. 1958; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, bequest of Lydia Park Moore and Roy Moore; © Estate of David Park; courtesy Natalie Park Schutz, Helen Park Bigelow, and Hackett Mill, San Francisco; photo: Don Ross
Elmer Bischoff, Untitled, ca. 1960; private collection; © Estate of Elmer Bischoff, courtesy George Adams Gallery, New York
Paul Wonner, Model Smoking, 1960–61; Hackett Mill, San Francisco; © Estate of Paul Wonner and William Theophilus Brown, Crocker Art Museum; photo: Ben Cressy

Generous support for David Park and His Circle: The Drawing Sessions is provided by the Agnes Cowles Bourne Bay Area Contemporary Arts Exhibition Fund and Bobbie and Mike Wilsey.

Header image: Paul Wonner, Model Smoking, 1960–61; Hackett Mill, San Francisco; © Estate of Paul Wonner and William Theophilus Brown, Crocker Art Museum; photo: Ben Cressy