The National Gallery of Art acquires drawing by Ralston Crawford

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


The National Gallery of Art acquires drawing by Ralston Crawford
Ralston Crawford, Lights in an Aircraft Plant, c. 1945. Gouache, image: 29.85 x 40.01 cm (11 3/4 x 15 3/4 in.) framed: 52.71 x 62.23 cm (20 3/4 x 24 1/2 in.). Promised Gift of Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan.



WASHINGTON, DC.- The National Gallery of Art announced that the superb drawing Lights in an Aircraft Plant (c. 1945) by American artist Ralston Crawford (1906–1978) has been promised to the museum by Linda Lichtenberg Kaplan, a noted Washington, DC, curator, art historian, writer, philanthropist, and collector. Kaplan has donated several works of art to the Gallery over the years, including Modern Sculpture with Aperture (1967) by Roy Lichtenstein in 2004; Foliage (late 19th century) by William Trost Richards in 2015, through the Corcoran Collection acquisition; Aeroplane (1925–1927) by Louis Lozowick in 2018 (promised gift); and Fascism (1934) by Francis Criss also in 2018 (partial and promised gift).




In the 1930s, Crawford played a key role in the development of precisionism, an artistic movement that focused on urban and industrial subjects rendered in crisp, simplified geometric shapes. The abstract elements, fractured forms, and broad areas of opaque watercolor in Lights in an Aircraft Plant (c. 1945) exemplify this stylistic approach.

The subject matter and reductive figures derive from Crawford's experience during World War II, when he employed symbolic shapes to indicate rain, snow, clouds, and other meteorological conditions for efficient communication of weather information to military personnel. The receding white lines that stand out against a dull yellow background in the drawing suggest overhead lighting in a vast warehouse. A brilliant blue describes shadows and the dark interior of a large tubular form inside a gray-walled space. This drawing offers a striking comparison with the Gallery's painting Lights in an Aircraft Plant (1945) that was created around the same time.

The drawing joins the Gallery's collection of 60 works by Crawford: 24 small pen and ink sketches, one early opaque watercolor study, one collage, 13 photographs, 20 prints, and one oil painting.










Today's News

September 15, 2020

With gallery openings, auctions and talks, Asia Week New York keeps the ball rolling

Picasso portrait of Dora Maar to highlight Christie's New York Evening Sale on October 6

Haute Auctions offers breath of fresh air in the conservative landscape of auctions

Phillips to offer a seminal Yoshitomo Nara canvas

Eisenhower Memorial, delayed by design disputes, opens this week

'Castles: Paintings from the National Gallery, London' resumes tour at Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens

Bill Wyman's Rolling Stones Archive breaks records at Julien's Auctions

Brent R. Benjamin to retire as Saint Louis Art Museum director

Rare, significant items signed by Mao Zedong, Edgar Allan Poe and Albert Einstein headline sale

Doyle to auction important paintings September 17

China Guardian Hong Kong Autumn Auctions 2020 to be held from 5 to 10 October

French-Algerian artist Mohamed Bourouissa has won the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2020

Rizzoli to release new book from Mark Gonzales

Edoardo Tresoldi presents Opera, a permanent installation in Reggio Calabria

Utah Jazz owner's $25 million coin collection to be sold

Outsider Art Fair announces new Director, and hybrid online-physical Paris edition

Abraham Lincoln lock of hair and historically important telegram sold for $81,250 at auction

The National Gallery of Art acquires drawing by Ralston Crawford

Three sleeping beauties emerge from more than a combined century's worth of slumber

Thierry Goldberg Gallery opens an exhibition of works by poet and photographer Kevin Claiborne

A violinist lost his seat and his job. He blames China.

Solo exhibition of works by Maja Ruznic opens at Hales

Only known 1916 World Series Champion Red Sox/Babe Ruth button to be auctioned by Hake's

Monarch Auction and Estate Services to offer "Tuscan Treasures Auction: The Kirk Butler Collection"

Different types of bitcoin wallets those are available in the market

Here's How To Use Images And Video In The Perfect Way On Your Instagram Page.

What You Need To Know About Cannabis Dabbing

7 Top Internet Marketing Strategies

Are You a Novice Artist? Here Are 3 Things to Do for Promoting Your Artwork

How to get instantly famous on TikTok?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful