Composition of Red and White: Nom 1/Composition No. 4 with red and blue
- Artist
- Piet Mondrian, Dutch, 1872–1944
- Date
- 1938–42
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Paris, Île-de-France region, Western Europe, France, Europe
London, Northern Europe, England, Europe
New York, New York, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North and Central America - Classification
- Paintings
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 211
- Dimensions
- 39 1/2 x 39 in. (100.3 x 99.1 cm)
framed: 43 x 43 in. (109.2 x 109.2 cm) - Credit Line
- Friends Endowment Fund
- Rights
- © 2023 Mondrian / Holtzman Trust
- Object Number
- 242:1972
NOTES
Piet Mondrian’s abstract language employed thick black lines and small rectangles of primary colors. He achieved compositional harmony through subtle asymmetry. In Composition of Red and White: Nom 1/Composition No. 4 with red and blue one horizontal line does not behave like the others; peripheral lines open up and reframe the composition; and blocks of unbounded color appear at the edges. Having moved to New York City from London in 1940, Mondrian responded to the energy of American urban life by adding these improvisational elements to an earlier version of the painting.
Provenance
1938 - still in 1942
Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Paris, France; London, England; New York, NY, USA [1]
by 1949
Jan de Graaf (1903-1989) and Peggy de Graaf (-1998), Dunthorpe, OR [2]
- 1951
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, NY
1951 - 1957
William A. M. Burden, Washington, D.C.
1957 - 1958
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, NY
1958 - 1972
Arnold and Adele Maremont, Winnetka, IL [3]
1972
E. V. Thaw & Company, New York, NY
1972 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from E. V. Thaw & Company [4]
Notes:
The primary source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné, cat. no. B285.313 [Joosten, Joop. Piet Mondrian: Catalogue Raisonné. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1998]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] The catalogue for the exhibition "Mondrian: The Transatlantic Paintings," details the early history of this painting [Cooper, Harry and Ron Spronk. "Mondrian: The Transatlantic Paintings." New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001, cat. no. 9]. Mondrian began the painting in 1938 and continued to work on it after he moved to London according to a letter he wrote on October 10, 1938. It was exhibited in its first state in exhibitions twice in Paris and once in London in 1939. Mondrian moved to New York in October 1940 and continued to rework the painting there. This painting is visible in a photograph of his New York studio [Janis Sidney, "School of Paris Comes to U.S.," Decision II Nos. 5-6 (Nov.-Dec. 1941): p., 88-91].
[2] The painting was included from November 30 to December 31, 1949, in an exhibition of Jan and Peggy de Graaf's collection at the Portland Art Museum [A Portland Private Art Collection. Portland: Portland Art Museum, 1949, cat. 29]. Email dated August 5, 2022 from F. Visalli to E. Rothgangel [SLAM document files].
[3] Joosten has the painting going from the Sidney Janis Gallery to the Maremont collection in 1959. An exhibition catalog from November - December 1958 at the Janis Gallery, however, lists the painting as being in the collection of the Maremont ["10th Anniversary Exhibition (X Years of Janis." New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1950, cat. no. 52]. This suggests the painting actually changed owners in 1958.
[4] Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 31, 1972.
Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Paris, France; London, England; New York, NY, USA [1]
by 1949
Jan de Graaf (1903-1989) and Peggy de Graaf (-1998), Dunthorpe, OR [2]
- 1951
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, NY
1951 - 1957
William A. M. Burden, Washington, D.C.
1957 - 1958
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York, NY
1958 - 1972
Arnold and Adele Maremont, Winnetka, IL [3]
1972
E. V. Thaw & Company, New York, NY
1972 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from E. V. Thaw & Company [4]
Notes:
The primary source for this provenance is the catalogue raisonné, cat. no. B285.313 [Joosten, Joop. Piet Mondrian: Catalogue Raisonné. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1998]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] The catalogue for the exhibition "Mondrian: The Transatlantic Paintings," details the early history of this painting [Cooper, Harry and Ron Spronk. "Mondrian: The Transatlantic Paintings." New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001, cat. no. 9]. Mondrian began the painting in 1938 and continued to work on it after he moved to London according to a letter he wrote on October 10, 1938. It was exhibited in its first state in exhibitions twice in Paris and once in London in 1939. Mondrian moved to New York in October 1940 and continued to rework the painting there. This painting is visible in a photograph of his New York studio [Janis Sidney, "School of Paris Comes to U.S.," Decision II Nos. 5-6 (Nov.-Dec. 1941): p., 88-91].
[2] The painting was included from November 30 to December 31, 1949, in an exhibition of Jan and Peggy de Graaf's collection at the Portland Art Museum [A Portland Private Art Collection. Portland: Portland Art Museum, 1949, cat. 29]. Email dated August 5, 2022 from F. Visalli to E. Rothgangel [SLAM document files].
[3] Joosten has the painting going from the Sidney Janis Gallery to the Maremont collection in 1959. An exhibition catalog from November - December 1958 at the Janis Gallery, however, lists the painting as being in the collection of the Maremont ["10th Anniversary Exhibition (X Years of Janis." New York: Sidney Janis Gallery, 1950, cat. no. 52]. This suggests the painting actually changed owners in 1958.
[4] Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 31, 1972.