Richard Pousette-Dart (1916–1992) is best known as an American painter of mid-twentieth-century Abstract Expressionism, although his work was distinct for its spiritual content and his elaborate layering of materials. His works on paper are remarkable for their varied use of materials and techniques, and reflect the artist’s shift from figurative representation to semi-abstract forms emerging out of free calligraphic drawing, to a form of pointillism, and a return to spontaneous drawing. Pousette-Dart’s later works include evocative graphite drawings touched with white paint, bold black and white paintings, hand-colored etchings, and colorful acrylics on handmade paper. The authors employ close stylistic and technical analysis to trace for the first time the narrative of Pousette-Dart’s career as a draftsman. Generously illustrated with nearly two hundred color images, this revelatory publication presents an unprecedented examination of the artist’s works on paper, focused on his dynamic experimentation with media and styles over nearly seven decades.
About the Authors
Innis Howe Shoemaker is the Audrey and William H. Helfand Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings and Photographs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.