
Norman Wilfred Lewis
American, 1909–1979
Journey, 1965
Oil on masonite
60 x 36 inches
Signed and dated lower left
SOLD
Journey, and Untitled, are highly important paintings in Lewis’ later body of work, and they embody many of the key themes and motifs used by Lewis during the 1960s. The large, vertically composed works are both examples of soft, figural abstractions, employing a similar color scheme of red, orange, blue, and white. In Journey, the panel is bathed in a rich, ambient field of blue. Within Lewis’ signature calligraphic black lines are softly layered gestural brushstrokes of red and orange, loosely organized in a winding curvilinear formation to suggest a large group of figures. Perhaps on a journey, as the title suggests, it is unclear if the figures are processing together or drifting apart. The identities of the figures are masked by abstraction, yet facial features and other human details are discernible within the composition.
View Untitled here.
