Robert Murray met and befriended Barnett and Annalee Newman in the summer of 1959, when Barnett was teaching in Murray’s native Canada. Soon after and with Newman’s support, Murray moved to New York, where he quickly became embedded in the city’s artistic culture. The two were lifelong friends and occasional collaborators, Murray’s practical and intellectual support enabling Newman’s forays into three dimensions.
Murray is best known for monumental public sculptures, which he constructed with the help of maquettes (small preliminary models). Double Diamond’s clean geometry and industrial materials are imbued with the organic in the autumnal orange color as well as the textured scars of hand-welding on its surface. In Murray’s sculptures—with their multiple planes and complex shapes—light, reflectivity, and shadow are active elements.