Enforcer
- Date
- 1962
- Material
- Liquitex and fabric spray on canvas
- made in
- New York, New York, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 244
- Dimensions
- 80 1/4 x 80 1/4 in. (203.8 x 203.8 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase and Friends Endowment Fund
- Rights
- © Larry Poons / Licensed by ARS, New York, NY
- Object Number
- 2:1976
NOTES
Blue dots extend to the edges of this saturated red canvas in a seemingly random arrangement. In fact, Larry Poons began this work, the second of his series of “polka dot” paintings, by drawing a grid onto the bare canvas. When adding the dots, Poons allowed for controlled variation within the logical framework of the grid, creating an effect that, in his words, “really hammered your eyes.” This painting is titled after mobster Frank “The Enforcer” Nitti from the television series The Untouchables (1959–63).
Provenance
by 1963 -
Green Gallery, New York, NY [1]
by 1965 - 1973
Robert C. Scull, New York, NY [2]
18/10/1973
Sold at auction, "A Selection of Fifty Works from the Collection of Robert C. Scull," Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 18, 1973, lot no. 29 [3]
- 1976
Blum Helman Gallery, New York, NY [4]
1976 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Blum Helman Gallery [5]
Notes:
[1] Green Gallery was Poons' dealer and is listed in the provenance in the sales catalogue, "A Selection of Fifty Works from the Collection of Robert C. Scull," Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 18, 1973, lot no. 29. Also, Green Gallery lent this painting to the 1963 exhibition, "Formalists" ["Formalists." Washington D.C.: The Washington Gallery of Modern Art, 1964, unpaginated, cat. 43].
[2] Robert Scull is known to have bought many pieces through Green Gallery, and it is likely that he bought "Enforcer" soon after Poons' 1963 exhibition at the Green Gallery. In 1965 Scull is listed as the owner in the caption for "Enforcer" [Tillim, Sidney. "Larry Poons: The Dotted Line." Arts Magazine 39 (February 1965): 21].
[3] "Enforcer" was sold at auction in 1973 ["A Selection of Fifty Works from the Collection of Robert C. Scull, Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 18, 1973, lot 29].
[4] It is likely that Blum Helman Gallery purchased "Enforcer" from the 1973 Sotheby Parke Bernet auction. According to the price list in the auction catalogue, the painting was sold.
[5] Invoice dated March 19, 1976 [SLAM document files] and Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 18, 1976.
Green Gallery, New York, NY [1]
by 1965 - 1973
Robert C. Scull, New York, NY [2]
18/10/1973
Sold at auction, "A Selection of Fifty Works from the Collection of Robert C. Scull," Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 18, 1973, lot no. 29 [3]
- 1976
Blum Helman Gallery, New York, NY [4]
1976 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Blum Helman Gallery [5]
Notes:
[1] Green Gallery was Poons' dealer and is listed in the provenance in the sales catalogue, "A Selection of Fifty Works from the Collection of Robert C. Scull," Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 18, 1973, lot no. 29. Also, Green Gallery lent this painting to the 1963 exhibition, "Formalists" ["Formalists." Washington D.C.: The Washington Gallery of Modern Art, 1964, unpaginated, cat. 43].
[2] Robert Scull is known to have bought many pieces through Green Gallery, and it is likely that he bought "Enforcer" soon after Poons' 1963 exhibition at the Green Gallery. In 1965 Scull is listed as the owner in the caption for "Enforcer" [Tillim, Sidney. "Larry Poons: The Dotted Line." Arts Magazine 39 (February 1965): 21].
[3] "Enforcer" was sold at auction in 1973 ["A Selection of Fifty Works from the Collection of Robert C. Scull, Sotheby Parke Bernet, October 18, 1973, lot 29].
[4] It is likely that Blum Helman Gallery purchased "Enforcer" from the 1973 Sotheby Parke Bernet auction. According to the price list in the auction catalogue, the painting was sold.
[5] Invoice dated March 19, 1976 [SLAM document files] and Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, March 18, 1976.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.