The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Sunflowers I

Sunflowers I

1992
(American, 1925–1992)
America
color lithograph
Sheet: 144.7 x 104.8 cm (56 15/16 x 41 1/4 in.)
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.250.a
© Estate of Joan Mitchell
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

To make this print, Mitchell painted clear sheets of Mylar, which allowed her to layer colors for printing and retain a sense of immediacy

Description

Abstract painter Joan Mitchell’s monumental lithographs convey her experience of the landscape and combine the complexity, intensity, and fluidity of abstracted lines that are fundamental to her work. She explored the theme of sunflowers throughout her career, inspired by the surroundings of her home in the Seine valley of France and by the iconic paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. This lithographic diptych tap into the energy, color, and spirit of Van Gogh’s paintings, while entirely liberating the older master’s line, composition, and gesture from a natural representation of the sunflower.
  • ?-2013
    (Mary Ryan Gallery, New York, NY, sold to Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH)
    2013-2020
    Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection, Cleveland, OH
    September 14, 2020
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).
  • {{cite web|title=Sunflowers I|url=false|author=Tyler Graphics Ltd., Joan Mitchell|year=1992|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.250.a