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Lot Essay
Fifty Years of Passion for Art
Inspired by an unbridled passion for art, the late Ellen and Paul Hirschland spent their half century together building an exquisite collection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture that filled their home from floor to ceiling and suffused their lives and those of their children with beautiful objects, valued artist friends, and endless adventures and stories. Many of the artists whose works the couple collected frequently enjoyed stimulating discussions and lively meals in the Hirschland home, surrounded by their own works in the Tudor house on Long Island.
Acquired over thirty years ago, Abstract Painting, Blue, is a celebrated example of the Ad Reinhardt's signature series of subtley colored monochrome abstractions which he began in the early 1950's and would consume him for the rest of his career. The earliest and among the most sought after examples from this series date from 1950-1953, generally in red or blue. Its beautiful physical condition is a testament to the Hirschland's understanding of the uniquely sensitive and subtle character of Reinhardt's painted surfaces. Achieved in a radiant blue with subtle modulations, it has the unique surface character that is a hallmark of the artist's style.
As soft and dense as a butterfly's wing, Abstract Painting, Blue does not shine but glows with a coloristic brilliance beyond that of ordinary painted surfaces. It catches the light ceaselessly and changes with the hours of the day and transforms itself as day passes into night. It stands in time unchanging yet registering the movement of life and light in its environment. This period of Reinhardt's work also honors color as the elemental, primal physical pleasure it surely is. It does so without evoking blue skies or blue flags or any other association apart from the pure visual joy of the color itself. Clarity of mind and intellectual rigor can indeed support the creation of a dramatically sensual art.
Inspired by an unbridled passion for art, the late Ellen and Paul Hirschland spent their half century together building an exquisite collection of paintings, drawings, and sculpture that filled their home from floor to ceiling and suffused their lives and those of their children with beautiful objects, valued artist friends, and endless adventures and stories. Many of the artists whose works the couple collected frequently enjoyed stimulating discussions and lively meals in the Hirschland home, surrounded by their own works in the Tudor house on Long Island.
Acquired over thirty years ago, Abstract Painting, Blue, is a celebrated example of the Ad Reinhardt's signature series of subtley colored monochrome abstractions which he began in the early 1950's and would consume him for the rest of his career. The earliest and among the most sought after examples from this series date from 1950-1953, generally in red or blue. Its beautiful physical condition is a testament to the Hirschland's understanding of the uniquely sensitive and subtle character of Reinhardt's painted surfaces. Achieved in a radiant blue with subtle modulations, it has the unique surface character that is a hallmark of the artist's style.
As soft and dense as a butterfly's wing, Abstract Painting, Blue does not shine but glows with a coloristic brilliance beyond that of ordinary painted surfaces. It catches the light ceaselessly and changes with the hours of the day and transforms itself as day passes into night. It stands in time unchanging yet registering the movement of life and light in its environment. This period of Reinhardt's work also honors color as the elemental, primal physical pleasure it surely is. It does so without evoking blue skies or blue flags or any other association apart from the pure visual joy of the color itself. Clarity of mind and intellectual rigor can indeed support the creation of a dramatically sensual art.