Horizontal Illustration

Irene Rice Pereira is best known for her ethereal approach to American Abstraction through the use of mixed media. Pereira studied at the Art Students League in New York at night while she supported herself with secretarial work. Once a full-time artist, Pereira became increasingly experimental in her styles and methods. In 1939 she created her first painting on glass in the Works Progress Administration's Design Laboratory. A major retrospective of Pereira's work was held at the Whitney Museum in 1953, which included paintings on glass similar to the present work. In Horizontal Illustration, much of the glass panels are left unpainted, allowing light and space to become integral elements of the work. The two painted textured glass layers superimposed over each other and over a painted masonite board produce refractions of light that change with the position of the viewer.