The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Lilies and Sparrow

Lilies and Sparrow

c. 1920
(American, 1877–1946)
America, 20th century
Colored pencil, silverpoint, and white gouache
Sheet: 72.4 x 57.1 cm (28 1/2 x 22 1/2 in.)
Delia E. Holden Fund 1983.81
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

Joseph Stella loved drawing flowers and described his wish that "my every working day...might begin and end...with the light, gay painting of a flower."

Description

Joseph Stella made nature studies throughout his career. For this simple, spare composition he used metalpoint, a medium associated with the Italian Renaissance and rarely seen in the 20th century. Although metalpoint cannot be erased, its unique qualities -- precision, delicacy, and sharpness -- appealed to Stella and he often combined it with colored pencils to achieve a brightness that resembled oil painting. The careful execution and large size of this sheet suggest that Stella considered it a finished work of art.
  • ?-?
    Sergio Stella, Glen Head, NY
    1983
    (Harriet Griffin Fine Arts, Inc., New York, NY, sold to Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1983-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Glaubinger, Jane. "Two Drawings by Joseph Stella." Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 70, no. 10 (December 1983): 382-395. Mentioned: 382-395; Reproduced: p. 393
    Haskell, Barbara. Joseph Stella. Exh. Cat. New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1994. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 120; Reproduced: no. 136
    DeGrazia, Diane, and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned: pp. 244-245, 297; Reproduced: p. 245
  • Joseph Stella: Visionary Nature. High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA (organizer) (February 23-May 21, 2023) https://high.org/exhibition/joseph-stella-visionary-nature/.
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000); The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (May 23-August 19, 2001); Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX (October 14, 2001-January 6, 2002).
    American Drawings from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 19-July 12, 1998).
    Joseph Stella. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (organizer) (April 21-October 9, 1994).
    America Draws. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1984-March 17, 1985).
    The Year in Review for 1983. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 22-April 8, 1984).
  • {{cite web|title=Lilies and Sparrow|url=false|author=Joseph Stella|year=c. 1920|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1983.81