1 / 1

zoom is not available
image compare is not available
download is not available

Two black bands span the height of this vertical canvas against a field of white mottled with shades of ivory, bone, and parchment in this abstract painting. A narrow, solid black stripe lines the left edge of the canvas, like the spine of a book. About a quarter of the way in from the right edge, black paint swirls and wafts like smoke on either side of a narrow white stripe the same color as the background. The artist signed and dated the painting in black paint in the lower right corner of the canvas: “Barnett Newman 1958.”

Barnett Newman

First Station, 1958

East Building, Tower Level — Gallery 615-B

series Title

The Stations of the Cross / Lema Sabachthani

Medium

Magna on canvas

Dimensions

overall: 197.8 x 153.7 cm (77 7/8 x 60 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection

Accession Number

1986.65.1

Artists / Makers

Barnett Newman (artist) American, 1905 - 1970

Image Use

This image is unavailable for download.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .
Contact us about image usage .

Inscription

lower right: Barnett Newman 1958

Provenance

Estate of the artist; purchased 1986 by NGA with funds provided by Robert and Jane Meyerhoff, Phoenix, Maryland.

Associated Names

Newman, Barnett, Mrs.

Exhibition History

1966: Barnett Newman: The Stations of the Cross--Lema Sabachthani, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1966.

1971: Barnett Newman, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Tate Gallery, London; Grand Palais, Paris, 1971-1972, no. 46 (New York catalogue only), repro. in Paris catalogue (shown only in New York).

1978: American Art at Mid-Century: The Subjects of the Artist, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978-1979, no. 1 (of checklist for The Stations of the Cross), fig. 3.

1980: Zeichen des Glaubens - Geist der Avantgarde. Religiöse Tendenzen in der Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Schloss Charlottenburg, Grosse Orangerie, Berlin, 1980, no. 137, repro.

1996: The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: 1945 to 1995, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1996, no. 110, color repro.

2002: Barnett Newman, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Tate Modern, London, 2002-2003, pl. 73.

2012: In The Tower: Barnett Newman, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2012-2013, unnumbered brochure.

2014: Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, 2014, pl. 1.

2015: Barnett Newman: The Stations of the Cross: Lema Sabachthani, Miho Museum, Koga City, 2015, unnumbered catalogue, pl. 1.

Bibliography

1966: Barker, Walter. "The Passion Without the Image." St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12 June 1966: 5C

1966: Berkson, William. "In the Museums, Recent Exhibitions: Barnett Newman." Arts Magazine 8 (June 1966): 44

1966: Newman, Barnett. "The 14 Stations of the Cross, 1958-1966." Art News 65 (1966): 26-28+, repro.

1969: Dillenberger, Jane. Secular Art with Sacred Themes. New York, 1969:99-116

1969: Hess, Thomas B. Barnett Newman. New York, 1969:58, 61-64

1971: Alloway, Lawrence. "Color, Culture, The Stations: Notes on Barnett Newman Memorial Exhibition." Artforum 4 (December 1971):31-39

1974: Paskus, Benjamin Garrison. "The Theory, Art and Critical Reception of Barnett Newman." Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1974:191

1977: Dillenberger, Jane and John Dillenberger. Perceptions of the Spirit in Twentieth Century Art. Exh. cat., Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1977:102-105

1978: Rosenberg, Harold. Barnett Newman. New York, 1978:20, 26-27, 150, 228, 240, repro.

1978: Schulze, Franz. "The East Building: Trapezoid Triumphant." Art in America 4 (July-August 1978): 63, repro.

1989: Kramer, Hilton. "Modern Art at the National Gallery." The New Criterion 7, no. 8 (April 1989): 2-3.

1989: Strick, Jeremy. Twentieth Century Painting and Sculpture: Selections for the Tenth Anniversary of the East Building. Washington, D.C., 1989: 90, repro. 91 (accession number given incorrectly as 1985.65.1-15).

1990: Dillenberger, Jane. "Appearance and Disappearance of God in Western Art," in Image and Spirit in Sacred and Secular Art. New York, 1990: 104-107, repro.

1990: O'Neill, John P., ed. "A Conversation: Barnett Newman and Thomas B. Hess [1966]," in Barnett Newman: Selected Writings and Interviews. New York, 1990:273-286

1992: American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 243, repro.

1992: Ruhrberg, Karl. Die Malerie in Europa und Amerika 1945-1960: Die zweite Moderne. Cologne, 1992:no. 33, repro.

1994: From Minimal to Conceptual Art: Works from The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 14, fig. 15.

1995: Fineberg, Jonathan. Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1995:105-106, repro.

1996: The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: 1945 to 1995. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1996: no. 110.

1997: Hughes, Robert. American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. New York, 1997: 494.

1997: Otto Ritschl 1885-1976, Retrospective, Exh. cat. Museum Wiesbaden, Von de Heydt-Museum Wuppertal, 1997-1998, p. 113, repro.

1998: Hazzikostas, Dimitri. "Grieving/Lamentation." Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, ed. Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago and London, 1998: 1:370.

2004: Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 440, 442, no. 362, color repro.

2013: Harris, Neil. Capital Culture: J. Carter Brown, the National Gallery of Art, and the Reinvention of the Museum Experience. Chicago and London, 2013: 412.

2017: Kennicott, Philip. "'Stations of the Cross' Draws Pilgrims to the National Gallery. Washington Post 140, no. 132 (April 16, 2017): E1, E8-E9, color fig.