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Abstraction #1

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Abstraction #1

Artist Jared French (American, 1905-1988)
Date1960s
DimensionsH: 27 in. (68.6 cm); W: 81 in. (205.7 cm) (dealer)
MediumInk on paper.
ClassificationDrawings
Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, by exchange
Object number
2008.163
Not on View
Label TextJared French’s skill at rendering form with illusionary settings is showcased in this landscape with anthropomorphic (human-like) shapes. During the 1960s, French began drawing creatures that at first look like rock formations, as seen in Abstraction #1. On closer examination, fragments of the human body begin to emerge from the landscape. Like French’s larger body of work, this drawing seeks to capture a physiological state of being through manipulating and abstracting the human form. It is common for artists with working and personal relationships to own each other’s work. This is the case with the two American artists Paul Cadmus (1904–1999) and Jared French, who were lovers in their youth, then life-long friends. Prior to entering the collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Abstraction #1 belonged to Cadmus until his death in 1999. Similarly, an intimate portrait of French by Cadmus titled Jerry belonged to French until his death in 1988 (see Jerry currently on display in Gallery 6).Exhibition HistoryNew York, Midtown Payson Galleries, Jared French: Drawings from the 1960s, October 13 - November 13, 1993.
The Guardian
Jared French
about 1966-1967
George Tooker (Paul Cadmus and Jared French in mirror)
PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Margaret French)
about 1944
PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Margaret French)
1943
Tennessee Williams
PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, Margaret French)
about 1938-1942
Abstraction
Willi Baumeister
1925
Letter Drawing
Dale Chihuly
1981
Untitled at 2,762,875
Jonathan Borofsky
about 1982
The Demoniac Boy
Benjamin West
1815
The Family of the Artist
Benjamin West
about 1785-1788

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