Untitled (Pure Crimson Lake Butterfly 817)

"The artist's devotion to his distinctive butterfly form recalls the belief of early modern proponents of abstraction in the universal nature of their artistic language. Grotjahn’s continuing exploration, however, reveals his body of work as distinctly personal and shaped by private goals. These butterflies are not meant to be realistic depictions of insects, but the work’s title does suggest a way to read this drawing—as lively waves of color flitting across the page." (G. Lowry, The Museum of Modern Art, MoMA Highlights since 1980, New York, 2008, p. 232.)