About this artwork
William Zorach may be better known for his wood and stone sculptures, but he began his career as a painter. This rare, early canvas shows Zorach’s love of organic forms of nature and his exuberant use of color—a direction he was encouraged to explore by his wife, the artist Marguerite Thompson Zorach. The four languid nudes in a pastoral setting create a splendid vision of the vie artistique, while the often nonnaturalistic hues draw attention to the abstracted, patterned surface. Summer also reveals the artist’s admiration for the work of Henri Matisse, which he would have seen in Paris and at the 1913 Armory Show.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 271
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artist
- William Zorach
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Title
- Summer (recto)
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Place
- United States (Artist's nationality)
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Date
- Made 1913
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Medium
- Oil on canvas
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Inscriptions
- Signed and dated lower right: WM ZORACH. 1913. (recto) Signed and dated lower right: WM ZORACH. 1914 (verso)
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Dimensions
- 73.7 × 88.9 cm (29 × 35 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Jamee J. and Marshall Field
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Reference Number
- 2005.425
Extended information about this artwork
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