Richard Diebenkorn
Sink (recto); Female Nude (verso)
1966
Scroll
Richard Diebenkorn
Sink (recto); Female Nude (verso)
1966
Physical Qualities
Brush and black ink and charcoal, Sheet: 630 × 478 mm. (24 13/16 × 18 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection
Object Number
1969.2
Around 1967, just as many artists began to investigate figuration again, Diebenkorn shifted from representational works to abstraction, beginning what would become known
as his Ocean Park period. This drawing comes right at this moment of transition, an excellent example of a representational technique that is clearly informed by an interest in abstract composition (note his treatment of the foreground wall, the back walls, and the lower floor which serve simultaneously as pictorial elements and abstract shapes). While many domestic scenes from his figurative period focus on a lived-in environment, his choice to depict an empty room reflects his desire to focus on the
compositional elements.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1969; Edward M. Benesch, New York, 1969; Poindexter Gallery, New York
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, "Matisse/Diebenkorn". The Baltimore Museum of Art, October 23, 2016 - January 29, 2017. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, March 11, 2017 - May 29, 2017.
de Young Museum, San Fransisco, "Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years," 22 June - 29 September 2013.
BMA, "Select Views: Drawings from the Benesch Collection," 21 May - 30 July 2006.
"Major Modern Drawings from the Collection," Baltimore Museum of Art, October 8- December 18, 1994.
"The Drawings of Richard Diebenkorn," Museum of Modern Art, New York, November 17, 1988-November 26, 1989. Venues: MOMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (March 9 - May 7, 1989), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (June 22 - August 27, 1989), The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. (September 30 - December 3, 1989). Illustrated p. 119.
BMA, "Drawings from the Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 14 October - 12 December 1982.
Victor Carlson and Carol Hynning Smith, BMA, "Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries"; circulated by the American Federation of Arts to the Guggenheim Museum, NY, 24 August - 7 October 1979; Des Moines Art Center, 19 November 1979 - 6 January 1980; Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 8 February - 16 March, 1980; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1 May - 22 June 1980 ; Denver Art Museum, 12 July - 24 August, 1980.
"Diebenkorn Drawings," Poindexter Gallery, New York, December 21, 1968- January 30, 1969, no. 28 (no catalogue).
de Young Museum, San Fransisco, "Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years," 22 June - 29 September 2013.
BMA, "Select Views: Drawings from the Benesch Collection," 21 May - 30 July 2006.
"Major Modern Drawings from the Collection," Baltimore Museum of Art, October 8- December 18, 1994.
"The Drawings of Richard Diebenkorn," Museum of Modern Art, New York, November 17, 1988-November 26, 1989. Venues: MOMA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (March 9 - May 7, 1989), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (June 22 - August 27, 1989), The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. (September 30 - December 3, 1989). Illustrated p. 119.
BMA, "Drawings from the Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," 14 October - 12 December 1982.
Victor Carlson and Carol Hynning Smith, BMA, "Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries"; circulated by the American Federation of Arts to the Guggenheim Museum, NY, 24 August - 7 October 1979; Des Moines Art Center, 19 November 1979 - 6 January 1980; Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, 8 February - 16 March, 1980; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1 May - 22 June 1980 ; Denver Art Museum, 12 July - 24 August, 1980.
"Diebenkorn Drawings," Poindexter Gallery, New York, December 21, 1968- January 30, 1969, no. 28 (no catalogue).
Bishop, Janet, and Katherine Rothkopf, eds. Matisse/Diebenkorn. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Museum of Art; San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 2016, page 115, plate 70.
Burgard, Timothy Anglin., Steven A. Nash, and Emma Acker. "Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years, 1953-1966." San Fancisco: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 2013. Print. fig.104, p.177
Enstice, Wayne, and Melody Peters. "Drawing: Space, Form, and Expression." Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print. fig. 1-21, p.32, ill.
Enstice, Wayne and Melody Peters. "Drawing: Space, Form, & Expression." Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003. p. 33, ill.
Dorsey, John. "'Modern Drawings' complements BMA's new wing." The Baltimore Sun, October 11, 1994
Elderfield, John. The Drawings of Richard Diebenkorn; New York: The Museum of Modern Art and Houston Fine Art Press, 1988, p. 119 (ill.).
"The Thomas Edward Benesch Memorial Collection," BMA, 1970, unpaginated.
Victor Carlson and Edward M. Benesch. "The Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection," BMA News, vol. XXIX, no. 3-4,1967, p. 9, 10 (ill.).
Carlson, Victor, and Carol Hynning Smith. Master Drawings and Watercolors of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: The Baltimore Museum of Art. New York, NY: The American Federation of Arts, 1979, pp. 177, ill.
Inscribed: lower left in graphite: "RD67"
Markings: WM: Strathmore
