Stone and Star

Bold, gestural brushstrokes and vibrant accents of blue, purple, orange, and red enliven the surface of Grace Hartigan’s Stone and Star. Hartigan received considerable acclaim for her Abstract Expressionist paintings. Often, as in this picture, she made allusions to the forms and colors of the natural world. A friend of New York School poet Frank O’Hara, Hartigan cited his poetry as a major source of inspiration for her work. She sometimes included letter shapes in her compositions. Here, the artist subtly depicts the letters A, S, and O in black paint.