The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 30, 2026

A vertically oriented drawing in ink and gouache features geometric shapes against a black background. Sharp white grids and angled paths intersect across the composition. A large, tilted blue square with a red center sits near the center, overlaid by thin lines. On the left, a blue rectangle floats horizontally. A solid red bar cuts horizontally near the bottom across vertical stripes. White rectangles are interspersed among floating white lines.

Composition

1940

Irene Rice Pereira

(American, 1902–1971)
America
ink and gouache on scratchboard
Image: 46.7 x 30.5 cm (18 3/8 x 12 in.); Framed: 60 x 44 x 4.1 cm (23 5/8 x 17 5/16 x 1 5/8 in.)
Alma Kroeger Fund 2023.164
© Irene Rice Pereira
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

In the context of the Federal Art Project, Irene Rice Pereira worked and taught at the Works Progress Administration’s Design Laboratory, a workshop that was modeled after the Dessau Bauhaus.

Description

American artist Irene Rice Pereira was well-known within the abstract art scene in New York during the 1930s and 40s, developing a clean, linear style that was inspired by an integration of art, science, and technology. This drawing is one of several that she created in 1940 using scratchboard and featuring a tonal reversal, in which white lines are incised into the black support—here, highlighted with primary colors. Pereira drew inspiration for these works from her ambition to depict motion and space using two-dimensional media through mazelike designs.
  • ?–1972
    Lester W. Bentley [1908–1972], Madison, WI
    ?–2023
    (D. Wigmore Fine Art, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 4, 2023–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Composition|url=false|author=Irene Rice Pereira|year=1940|access-date=30 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.164