Morris Louis, Man Reaching for a Star, Magna on canvas, 1952
Artist/Maker:
Morris Louis
Bio:
American, 1912-1962
Title:
Man Reaching for a Star
Portfolio/Series:
The Charred Journal Series
Date:
1952
Medium:
Magna on canvas
Dimensions:
34 × 28 1/2 in. (86.4 × 72.4 cm)
Credit Line:
Gift of Ruth Bocour in Memory of Leonard Bocour
Accession Number:
1997-126
Copyright:
© 1951 Morris Louis

Not On View

The orientation of this painting has been debated, as Morris Louis was flexible on this aspect of his work. At one time, it was displayed at the museum upside down and referred to as Untitled (Jewish Star). During preparations for the present exhibition, arrows on the back were determined to have been made by the artist, and to indicate the orientation in which it is now shown. When it is hung this way, a figure emerges. The painting is now identified as Louis’s Man Reaching for a Star.
This work is one of seven largely abstract paintings from Morris Louis’s Charred Journal series, created as a response to the book burnings carried out by the Nazis during World War II. Louis’s only work to provide insight into his moral and political concerns, it is also unique in reflecting his Jewish identity. The blackened background is reminiscent of burnt paper, from which rise white letters, numbers, agitated swirls, a large abstracted figure, delineated in brown and yellow, and a Star of David. The artist described his white letters and symbols as rising like ashes from the charred page; they may also be seen as metaphors for resistance and survival. Created during the early 1950s, when the United States Congress was seeking to purge perceived Communists, leftists, and liberals from public life, the series can be further interpreted as a statement against censorship.

Information may change as a result of ongoing research.

Related Exhibition

1109 5th Ave at 92nd St
New York, NY 10128

212.423.3200
info@thejm.org

Sign up to receive updates about our exhibitions, upcoming events, our restaurant, and more!

Sign up