Dream Landscape, 1962, is characteristic of the ambitious group of large-scale abstractions Felrath Hines produced in the 1960s. A founding member of the Spiral Group, a Black artists’ collective formed in 1963, Felrath Hines was deeply committed to his personal language of abstraction. At this moment, when the Civil Rights movement dominated headlines, a central focus of the Spiral Group became the role of art and artists in social justice. Hines viewed the term “Black Art” as restrictive, and his form of abstraction was a radical departure from the modes of expression often expected from Black artists at the time—typically realistic paintings of African heritage and history.

Hines’ work of the 1960s directly correlates to post-war artists of The New York School. In the present example, the irregular gestural passages, specifically in the earthen-tone mass in the lower register of the canvas, recall the style of Clyfford Still, while the blue and orange ovoid forms evoke the nebulous shapes of Adolph Gottlieb. Dream Landscape showcases Hines’ masterful use of color, which, in tandem with the layered brushwork, infuses the canvas with a meditative glow. Though the work was painted sixty years ago, the fresh, remarkable condition of the oil painting is a testament to Hines’ nuanced understanding of the complexities of the medium and his meticulous approach to painting—skills Hines gleaned throughout his successful career as a conservator. Hines’ career included working as Georgia O’Keeffe’s personal paintings restorer, becoming the first Black Chief Conservator of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and the Chief Conservator at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.