Point of Tranquility
Date
(1959-1960)
Artist
Morris Louis, American, b. Baltimore, Maryland, 1912–1962
Provenance
French & Company, New York
Galerie Lawrence, Paris, to 12 September 1963
Joseph H. Hirshhorn, New York, 12 September 1963-17 May 1966
Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Exhibition History
FRENCH & COMPANY, New York. "New Paintings by Morris Louis," 23 March-16 April 1960, no. 7.
TATE GALLERY, London. "Painting and Sculpture of a Decade 54-64," 22 April-28 June 1964, no. 163, p. 145. (Organized by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.)
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "Inaugural Exhibition," 4 October 1974-15 September 1975, colorpl. 765, pp. 516-517; pp. 714-715.
ISRAEL MUSEUM, Jerusalem. "Morris Louis," November-December 1980, no. 8. TOUR: TEL AVIV MUSEUM, January-February 1981.
DUKE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM OF ART, Durham, North Carolina. "Paintings of the 50s: Another Look, a loan of twenty-one paintings from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden," 3 October-27 November 1983, pp. 11-12, 19.
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, New York. "Morris Louis," 1 October 1986-4 January 1987, p. 131. TOUR: FORT WORTH ART MUSEUM, 15 February-12 April; HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20 May-26 July.
HIGH MUSEUM OF ART, Atlanta. "Morris Louis Now: An American Master Revisited," 4 November 2006-24 January 2007, no. 16, p. 92, colorpl. p. 93. Tour: MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART SAN DIEGO, 17 February-6 May; HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20 September-6 January 2008.
HIRSHHORN MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE GARDEN, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. "At the Hub of Things: New Views of the Collection," 16 October 2014-24 April 2016, no cat.
MUSEE NATIONAL DES BEAUX-ARTS DU QUEBEC. "America. Between Dreams and Realities: Selections from the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection," 9 June-5 September 2022, color ill. pp. 48-49.
Published References
GREENBERG, CLEMENT. "Louis and Noland," Art International 4 (25 May 1960), p. 27.
JAFFE, IRMA. "Gallery Previews in New York: Morris Louis," Pictures on Exhibit 23 (May 1960), p. 46.
ALFIERI, BRUNO. "Morris Louis: Romantic Optic Symbols," Metro 4/5 (1962), p. 31.
KOZLOFF, MAX. "A Letter to the Editor," Art International 7 (25 June 1963), p. 91.
BOWNESS, ALAN. "54/64 Painting and Sculpture of a Decade: The Gulbenkian Foundation," Studio International 167 (May 1964), p. 194.
SYLVESTER, DAVID. "Modern Art," The Book of Art (London: Grolier, 1965), p. 286.
FRIED, MICHAEL. Morris Louis (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1970), pl. 77.
LERNER, ABRAM et al. The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1974), pl. 76; pp. 516-17, 714-15.
HUDSON, ANDREW. "Washington Letter," Art International 19 (15 June 1975), p. 98.
RUSSELL, JOHN. The Meanings of Modern Art, Volume II: The Great Divide, 1950-70 (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1975), pl. XII, p. 42.
CARMEAN, E. A., Jr. "Morris Louis and the Modern Tradition," Arts 51 (September 1976), p. 72.
GATTO, JOSEPH with ALBERT PORTER and JACK SELLACK. Exploring Visual Design (Worcester, MA: Davis Publications, 1978), p. 117.
SANDLER, IRVING. The New York School: The Painters and Sculptors of the Fifties (New York: Harper and Row, 1978), no. 176, p. 229.
DIAMONSTEIN, BARBARA LEE. The Artist at Work in America (Washington, DC: I.C.A., 1979), no. 4, p. 4.
PARKS, EDWARDS. Treasures of the Smithsonian (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Press, 1983), pp. 252, 254-55.
UNSIGNED. Energeia Magazine (Annapolis, MD: St. John's College, Spring 1983).
APOSTALOS-CAPPADONA, DIANE. "Dreams and Visions: Religious Symbols and Contemporary Culture," Religion and Intellectual Life 1 (Spring 1984), p. 100.
MCGEE, MARK G. and DAVID W. WILSON. Psychology-Science and Application (New York: West Publishing Co., 1984); colorpl. front, back, and binding cover.
CHAPMAN, LAURA. Discover Art (Worcester, MA: Davis Publications, 1985).
SCHLESINGER, ELFRIEDE G. Health Care and Social Work Practice (St. Louis, MO: Times Mirror/Mosby College Publishing, 1985), cover.
UNSIGNED. "Psalms of Life," Reading Literature: Green Level (Evanston, IL: McDougal, Ittel & Co., 1985), p. 415.
UPRIGHT, DIANE. Morris Louis: The Complete Paintings / A Catalogue Raisonné (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1985), no. 274.
FLEMMING, LARAINE E. Reading for Results 3rd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, c. 1986), ill. cover.
UNSIGNED. Educational Leadership 43 (February 1986), ill. cover.
SHAW-EAGLE, JOANNA. "Morris Louis Comes Home," Museum & Arts Washington (May/June 1987), pp. 24-7.
KENNER, ROB. "Pen, Palette, Poison," Art & Antiques (December 1987), p. 29.
ATHEARN, ROBERT G. and MEDIA PROJECTS INC. American Heritage Illustrated
History of the United States, Volume 16: Decades of Cold War (New York: Choice Publishing, 1988), p. 1373.
ANFAM, DAVID. Abstract Expressionsim (London: Thames and Hudson, 1990), pp. 158, 213.
GOURDAIS, GILDAS. Les Modernes et Les Autres (Lausanne: Livre Total, 1990), pp. 158, 213.
UNSIGNED. Reader's Journal, Grade 4 (Needham, MA: Simon & Schuster, 1990), p. 136.
WHEELER, DANIEL. Art Since Mid-Century: 1945 to the Present (New York: Vendome Press, 1991), fig. 322, p. 183.
FULLER, PETER. "Clement Greenberg with Peter Fuller," Modern Painters 4 (Winter 1991), p. 23.
STRICKLAND, CAROL. The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Appreciating Art from Prehistoric to Postmodern (Kansas City, MO: Andrews and McMeel, 1992).
HARTT, FREDERICK. Art: A History of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 4th ed. (New
York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993), fig. 38-27, p. 1028.
RATCLIFF, CARTER. The Fate of a Gesture: Jackson Pollock and Postwar American
Art (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1996), fig. 65, p. 221.
UNSIGNED. "The Building Blocks of Art," Muse 1/4 (August 1997), ill. p. 16.
ZILCZER, JUDITH K. "Morris Louis," in Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden: 150 Works of Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996), pp. 98-99, color ill.
GOPNIK, BLAKE. "Washington's Color-Field Painters, Like the '60s, Are Back. Why?
There's No Black-and-White Answer," Washington Post (29 September 2002), pp. G1-G6, ill.
GUREWITSCH, MATTHEW. "Appraising and Preserving a Master," Wall Street Journal (25 October 2007), online edition, ill.
MAHONEY, J. W. "To a Different Drum," Art in America (May 2008), color ill. p. 94.
UPRIGHT, DIANE, et al. Morris Louis: Spectrum (New York: Yares Art, 2018), color ill. p. 52.
See more items in
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden Collection
School
Washington Color School
Credit Line
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966
Data Source
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Accession Number
66.3111
Type
Painting
Medium
Magna on canvas
Dimensions
101 3/4 x 135 3/4 in. (258.2 x 344.9 cm)
