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Untitled - Early November 1961

A work made of pastel on paper.

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  • A work made of pastel on paper.

Date:

1961

Artist:

Lucas Samaras
American, born Greece, 1936-2024

About this artwork

Lucas Samaras’s drawings represent surreal figures inhabiting a realm between sleeping and waking. The toothlike forms framing the mouth in the frontal portrait also define the eyes, correlating these features as sources of entry into the body. As self-portraits in an ongoing process of self-examination, Samaras’s pastels embody different emotional and mental states in their bright, expressive colors, intended to motivate introspection also in the viewer. Such pastels inspired the Polaroid photo-transformations which he produced in the 1970s and which are well-represented in The Art Institute of Chicago’s photography collection.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Lucas Samaras

Title

Untitled - Early November 1961

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.

1961

Medium

Pastel on paper

Dimensions

30.7 × 22.8 cm (12 1/8 × 9 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Lannan Foundation

Reference Number

1997.119

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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