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Crypt

A work made of gouache on cream wove paper.
Art © The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

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  • A work made of gouache on cream wove paper.

Date:

1945–47

Artist:

Adolph Gottlieb
American, 1903-1974

About this artwork

In 1941 Adolph Gottlieb began a series of paintings and drawings called Pictographs. The pictographs represent the artist’s first efforts at reconciling elements of abstraction with an exploration of the unconscious drawn from Surrealism. His aim was to create a new, uniquely American expression that would bring significant content to abstraction. The ideas Gottlieb explored in Pictographs are so varied and complex that the series occupied him for more than 10 years. Crypt was created in the course of Gottlieb’s intensive exploration of the pictograph theme.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Adolph Gottlieb

Title

Crypt

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1945–1947

Medium

Gouache on cream wove paper

Dimensions

45.5 × 60.8 cm (17 7/8 × 23 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Adele and Willard Gidwitz

Reference Number

1990.446

Copyright

Art © The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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