In Focus
These In Focus studies shed new light on works of post-war American art in Tate’s collection, providing insights into their making and meaning that revise traditional ways of understanding American modernism. Written by specialists from different disciplines, each study comprises linked essays that explore the work’s history and significance in depth, revealing how shifting institutional and ideological contexts change how works of art are understood and valued over time.
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Orthodox Boys 1948 by Bernard Perlin
Tate’s first acquisition of a work by a contemporary American artist after 1945, Orthodox Boys is charged with the anxieties and aspirations … -
Cathedral 1950 by Norman Lewis
In 1956 Norman Lewis’s Cathedral 1950 became one of the first works by an African American artist to be shown … -
Adam 1951, 1952 by Barnett Newman
The American abstract expressionist artist Barnett Newman considered his painting Adam 1951, 1952 a major achievement in his efforts to … -
The Unknown Political Prisoner (Defiant and Triumphant) 1952 by Theodore Roszak
This small model for an unrealised monument was the first work of post-war American sculpture to enter Tate’s collection. -
Around the Blues 1957, 1962–3 by Sam Francis
Around the Blues 1957, 1962–3 was painted when Sam Francis was travelling the world and developing a new approach to … -
Pompeii 1959 by Hans Hofmann
Pompeii 1959 gained an international reputation in the 1960s, representing Hans Hofmann and his ‘slab’ paintings across the US, Europe … -
Black Wall 1959 by Louise Nevelson
Tracing the early evolution of Black Wall, this In Focus reveals Nevelson as a collector and scavenger on the streets of … -
Meryon 1960–1 by Franz Kline
Franz Kline’s late work Meryon 1960–1 calls into question established ideas about abstract expressionism, including its essential ‘Americanness’. -
Parts of the Face: French Vocabulary Lesson 1961 by Larry Rivers
Through analysis of source material, the artist’s creative process and new archival resources, this In Focus investigates new interpretations for … -
Gift 1961–2 by Kenneth Noland
Given by the artist to prominent art critic Clement Greenberg, Gift exemplifies Greenberg’s taste for high modernist abstraction. This In … -
Silo 1963–4 by James Rosenquist
This In Focus presents Rosenquist’s Silo as a reflection on the image of the female consumer in the 1950s and 1960s, casting … -
String Composition 128 1964 by Sue Fuller
Sue Fuller’s String Composition 128 1964 testifies to the often overlooked influence of craft traditions on the development of modernist abstraction. -
Blood of a Poet Box 1965–8 by Eleanor Antin
Blood of a Poet Box 1965–8 was Eleanor Antin’s first conceptual artwork, introducing the themes of identity, originality and genius … -
Women Singing II 1966 by Willem de Kooning
This In Focus explores Women Singing II – a painting inspired by pop singers that Willem de Kooning saw on … -
Salt Flat 1968 by Dennis Oppenheim
This In Focus explores Oppenheim’s Salt Flat through the systems aesthetics of critic Jack Burnham, showing how the artist’s seemingly … -
Wrinkle 1968 by Liliana Porter
Liliana Porter’s Wrinkle 1968 recasts printmaking as a conceptual art form rather than a labour-intensive craft. -
Surface Substitution on 36 Plates 1972 by Jennifer Bartlett
This In Focus presents the first in-depth study of this key work of conceptual art from the 1970s, examining Bartlett’s … -
Walls Paper 1972 by Gordon Matta-Clark
First displayed in a partially dilapidated artist-run space in New York, Walls Paper’s photo-silkscreens of cracking, crumbling urban walls mirrored … -
Family Jules: NNN (No Naked Niggahs) 1974 by Barkley L. Hendricks
Offering the first in-depth study of this key nude portrait by Barkley L. Hendricks, this In Focus is enriched throughout … -
Evidence 1977 by Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel
Drawing together the history of California, science fiction, technological experimentation and catastrophe, this In Focus examines how Larry Sultan and …