Walter Quirt's Art 1957‑1960
The woman was used as a symbol in Quirt's paintings from 1951 to 1966. From her introduction as a prominent theme in a series of paintings completed between 1953 and 1955, she evolved in several directions. She was portrayed humorously in Portrait of a Nervous Woman 1958 and she loomed as a monumental figure in Figure 1958, and Grand Pose 1958‑60. These seated, monumental women continued as both main and subsidiary themes in Quirt's paintings throughout the remainder of his career. Either they were delineated almost classically in quiet poses with subtle geometric shapes, as in Grand Pose, or their anatomical parts were painted in slashes of searing color as in Figure,
A series of figures enacting religious events developed from these paintings of monumental women. Figures reclined, vaguely gazing at something outside the canvas. Quirt had used religious themes in earlier paintings, such as The Crucified , 1943, but these Works from 1958 did not retain the same complexities of composition evident earlier.
A third theme, the running horse, was introduced into Quirt's iconography in 1958, and this theme predominated from 1959 to 1962. The horse was an image ideally suited to Quirt's energetic, calligraphic brushstroke, In his studio Quirt had pinned up photographs of a horse in motion taken by the late nineteenth‑century photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Quirt did not copy these photographs but was inspired by them to create horses that moved with incredible grace and delicacy. Quirt's was exposed early in life to horses as his father had, for a period of time, owned a lumber camp and saw mill.These qualities are evident in Peter's Horse 1959, and Racing Horses 1959.
Quirt never explained his use of this image, but in his writings he did stress that he wished to create a feeling of controlled energy that would become a symbol for the tempo of society, "In all cases it is pressing psychological tensions and the potentials of social change which stimulate the painter to act. Without social and human disorder there would be no champion of order and, of course, no dynamic painting".
In paintings finished between 1959 and 1960, color was used sparingly, and Quirt's calligraphic handling of the brush defined the forms of horses against whites or softly scumbled grays.
Although classically posed monumental women continued to appear in Quirt's compositions Two Figures, circa 1960, many of his figures derived energy from the running horse image and were shown in action, as in Race Against Time, 1959. The white of the canvas and painted whites again fluctuated, first as form and then as background.
The woman was used as a symbol in Quirt's paintings from 1951 to 1966. From her introduction as a prominent theme in a series of paintings completed between 1953 and 1955, she evolved in several directions. She was portrayed humorously in Portrait of a Nervous Woman 1958 and she loomed as a monumental figure in Figure 1958, and Grand Pose 1958‑60. These seated, monumental women continued as both main and subsidiary themes in Quirt's paintings throughout the remainder of his career. Either they were delineated almost classically in quiet poses with subtle geometric shapes, as in Grand Pose, or their anatomical parts were painted in slashes of searing color as in Figure,
A series of figures enacting religious events developed from these paintings of monumental women. Figures reclined, vaguely gazing at something outside the canvas. Quirt had used religious themes in earlier paintings, such as The Crucified , 1943, but these Works from 1958 did not retain the same complexities of composition evident earlier.
A third theme, the running horse, was introduced into Quirt's iconography in 1958, and this theme predominated from 1959 to 1962. The horse was an image ideally suited to Quirt's energetic, calligraphic brushstroke, In his studio Quirt had pinned up photographs of a horse in motion taken by the late nineteenth‑century photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Quirt did not copy these photographs but was inspired by them to create horses that moved with incredible grace and delicacy. Quirt's was exposed early in life to horses as his father had, for a period of time, owned a lumber camp and saw mill.These qualities are evident in Peter's Horse 1959, and Racing Horses 1959.
Quirt never explained his use of this image, but in his writings he did stress that he wished to create a feeling of controlled energy that would become a symbol for the tempo of society, "In all cases it is pressing psychological tensions and the potentials of social change which stimulate the painter to act. Without social and human disorder there would be no champion of order and, of course, no dynamic painting".
In paintings finished between 1959 and 1960, color was used sparingly, and Quirt's calligraphic handling of the brush defined the forms of horses against whites or softly scumbled grays.
Although classically posed monumental women continued to appear in Quirt's compositions Two Figures, circa 1960, many of his figures derived energy from the running horse image and were shown in action, as in Race Against Time, 1959. The white of the canvas and painted whites again fluctuated, first as form and then as background.
Paintings in the Quirt Family Collection for sale
Other Paintings of Walter Quirt from this period
