Hard-edge Abstraction: Frank Stella

Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)

Bonne Bay, from the Newfoundland Series, 1971

Published by Gemini, G.E.L., Los Angeles

Lithograph and screenprint on Arjomari paper, Edition 54/58

Signed and dated with blind stamp of publisher

38 “ H x 70” W

Purchased through the John W. Poynor, MD Fund, 2010.32.1

Published in 1971, Bonne Bay is part of Stella’s “Newfoundland Series” that was inspired by a series of paintings by the same name (1969-1970). The title refers to the bay located on the western side of Newfoundland, Canada that separates the Great Northern Peninsula from the rest of Newfoundland. Stella used greens and beiges that may reflect the landscape of the area.

Bonne Bay was printed in the final year of Stella’s “Protractor series” (1967–69, with additional works until 1971), based on the curves and designs one can create using a protractor. With these and other works, Stella broke away from Abstract Expressionism, emphasizing decorative, geometric preciseness. His mixture of curved and straight lines with a layering aspect gives his image a three-dimensional effect.

• Isabelle White, ‘17

Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)

Referendum '70, 1970

Published by Gemini G.E.L., 68/200

Screenprint in colors, on Special Arjomari paper, with full margins

Signed and dated with blind stamp of publisher

39 1/2" H x 39 1/2" W

Purchased through the John W. Poynor '62, MD Fund, 2010.37.1

Frank Stella’s Referendum ’70 is one of 200 square screenprints composed of varied overlapping colored shapes. Stella’s print characterizes the minimalist approach he took during the artistic period of his time, where he concentrated on forms of non-representational art that evoke emotional responses through the formal qualities of line, color, shape, and balance.

Stella’s Referendum ‘70 was created for a group exhibition and auction, Benefit Exhibition for Referendum ’70, at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City (Sept 19-26, 1970). Castelli’s was one of thirty-two New York art galleries simultaneously hosting “Art for Peace” exhibitions to benefit Referendum ’70, a non-partisan organization seeking to elect anti-war Congressional candidates. Here Stella joined other artists including Andy Warhol, Willem de Kooning, Cy Twombly, Roy Lichtenstein, and Robert Rauschenberg in support of pro-peace politicians.

• Cyrus Felfeli

Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)

River of Ponds I from the Newfoundland Series, 1971

Color lithograph on Arjomari paper

Published by Gemini, G.E.L., Los Angeles

Signed and dated with blind stamp of publisher; 10 artist proofs for edition of 78

38" H x 38" W

Purchased through the John W. Poynor, MD Fund, 2010.43.1

Frank Stella often based his prints on earlier paintings in order to explore formal problems, although he did not reproduce them verbatim. The Newfoundland Series of prints was inspired by his Protractor paintings, begun in the 1960s, that marked a shift in direction for Stella from his earlier monochromatic rectilinear works. Influenced by a trip to Iran where he encountered brightly colored Islamic art and based on the shape of a drafting tool, the artist began to explore movement and saturated color tension, heightened in his prints by his use of fluorescent ink and gloss-varnish. The Newfoundland Series included six prints - lithographs and screenprints - including Bonne Bay, Porte aux Basques, and four versions of River of Ponds, all published by Gemini G.E.L. Studios in Los Angeles.

Frank Stella (American, b. 1936)

Double Gray Scramble, 1973

Published by Gemini G.E.L., 50/100

Silkscreen on Arches 88 mould-made paper

29" H x 50 3/4 " W

Purchased through the John W. Poynor '62, MD Fund, 2009.26.1

Artist Frank Stella attended Phillips Academy, Andover, where he was introduced to the art of Josef Albers and Hans Hoffman. At Princeton University, he majored in history before moving to New York City in the late 1950s. There, Stella created his “Black Paintings,” a series that launched his career as a respected artist. Reducing his work to black stripes separated by bare canvas, Stella challenged the gestural style of Abstract Expressionism and consciously removed any sort of emotion from his work.

Stella began printmaking in the mid-1960s and continued his “Black Series” as lithographs. Double Gray Scramble is related to his earlier paintings that were composed of concentric squares.

• Landon Hopkins, '17