Manierre Dawson American, 1887-1969
Ascension, 1913
Oil on canvas
26 x 20 inches
66 x 50.8 cm
66 x 50.8 cm
Signed and dated at lower left: M. Dawson '13
In his early years, Manierre Dawson studied structural engineering, a practice that informed his later abstract explorations of dimensional space. Among the first true abstract painters in America, Dawson began...
In his early years, Manierre Dawson studied structural engineering, a practice that informed his later abstract explorations of dimensional space. Among the first true abstract painters in America, Dawson began experimenting with nonrepresentational painting in the years between 1910 and 1914 during his travels through Europe. Ascension exhibits techniques that blend his mastery of mechanical draftsmanship with his eye for a rich, warm color palette. Dawson painted Ascension in 1913 against the cultural backdrop of the transformational 1913 Armory Show, the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to modern art in America.
Provenance
The artist; to
Estate of the artist; to
Dr. Lewis Obi, Frank McKeown, and Lefferts Mabie, 1978; to
Private collection, 1991 until the present
Exhibitions
Hollis Taggart Galleries, Chicago, Manierre Dawson: New Revelations, May 1-June 15, 2003Literature
Randy J. Ploog and Henry Adams, Manierre Dawson: New Revelations, New York: Hollis Taggart Galleries, 2003, pl. 10Randy J. Ploog and Myra Bairstow, Manierre Dawson (1887-1969): A Catalogue Raisonné, Jacksonville, Florida: The Three Graces, LLC in association with Hollis Taggart Galleries, 2011, no. 1913.19, p. 202, illus.
This work is recorded in the Dawson Record under the heading "1913": "Ascension, 26 x 20, canvas"
