Untitled

1956

94 x 113 in.

Magna on canvas

This piece was considered to be apart of Louis’ “Abstract Expressionist” series. This series came after his first set of “Veil Paintings” which were created in 1954. This painting is different than most other Morris Louis paintings due to the lack of white space and overlapping bold/opaque colors.

Point of Tranquility

1960

101 3/4 x 135 3/4 in

Magna on canvas

This piece was started in 1959 but was not completed until 1960. This piece was one of Morris’ earlier paintings for what would later be known as his “Themes and Variations” series. This series has a total of 100 different paintings created by Louis.

The History of the Written Word
Sam Swerdloff
1934
Oil on canvas
3 5ft x 20ft panels

This is a mural in Baltimore commissioned by the Public Works of Art Project. Louis’s most significant contribution to this collaborative project consisted in research on the early forms of writing that appear in the first panel. He also served as the model for the third figure from the left in the third panel. However, it was not possible to determine which areas or figures Louis actually painted.

Mountains and Sea
Helen Frankenthaler
1952
Charcoal and oil
220 x 297.8 cm

Frankenthaler often painted onto unprimed canvas with oil paints that she heavily diluted with turpentine, a technique that she named “soak stain.” This allowed for the colors to soak directly into the canvas, creating a liquefied, translucent effect that strongly resembled watercolor. The major disadvantage of this method, however, is that the oil in the paints will eventually cause the canvas to discolor and rot away.

Where
1960
94 x 143 1/2 in
Magna on canvas

This piece represents the culmination of a “theme” that started with the “Veil” series. The stripes of pure, flat color (like a reconfigured rainbow) were in his earlier paintings hidden by a “veil” of paint, most often black and at times semi-transparent, being revealed only at the top edge of the painting. The method in which Morris poured his magna paint on the canvas was mostly unknown.

Purple Fill
1962
7′ 3″ x 27 1/2″
Magna on canvas

This piece was one of Morris’ first uses of magna paint. Louis would use unstreched canvas put onto a hard surface that was than put up against something (in order to make it lean). Louis would then pour the magna paint from the top of the canvas and allow gravity to move the paint in whatever direction/way it desired.