First Station

1958

Barnett Newman

Associated Names
Barnett Newman

Artist, American, 1905 - 1970

Two black bands span the height of this vertical canvas against a field of white mottled with shades of ivory, bone, and parchment in this abstract painting. A narrow, solid black stripe lines the left edge of the canvas, like the spine of a book. About a quarter of the way in from the right edge, black paint swirls and wafts like smoke on either side of a narrow white stripe the same color as the background. The artist signed and dated the painting in black paint in the lower right corner of the canvas: “Barnett Newman 1958.”
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First Station (English)
View Tour Stop
On View

East Building Tower Level, Gallery 615


Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

Video:  Barnett Newman's "First Station" (ASL)

This video provides an ASL description of Barnett Newman's First Station


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Estate of the artist; purchased 1986 by NGA with funds provided by Robert and Jane Meyerhoff, Phoenix, Maryland.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1966

  • Barnett Newman: The Stations of the Cross--Lema Sabachthani, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1966.

1971

  • Barnett Newman, Museum of Modern Art, New York; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Tate Gallery, London; Grand Palais, Paris, 1971-1972, no. 46 (New York catalogue only), repro. in Paris catalogue (shown only in New York).

1978

  • American Art at Mid-Century: The Subjects of the Artist, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1978-1979, no. 1 (of checklist for The Stations of the Cross), fig. 3.

1980

  • Zeichen des Glaubens - Geist der Avantgarde. Religiöse Tendenzen in der Kunst des 20. Jahrhunderts, Schloss Charlottenburg, Grosse Orangerie, Berlin, 1980, no. 137, repro.

1996

  • The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: 1945 to 1995, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1996, no. 110, color repro.

2002

  • Barnett Newman, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Tate Modern, London, 2002-2003, pl. 73.

2012

  • In The Tower: Barnett Newman, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2012-2013, unnumbered brochure.

2014

  • Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, 2014, pl. 1.

2015

  • Barnett Newman: The Stations of the Cross: Lema Sabachthani, Miho Museum, Koga City, 2015, unnumbered catalogue, pl. 1.

Bibliography

1966

  • Berkson, William. "In the Museums, Recent Exhibitions: Barnett Newman." Arts Magazine 8 (June 1966): 44

  • Newman, Barnett. "The 14 Stations of the Cross, 1958-1966." Art News 65 (1966): 26-28+, repro.

  • Barker, Walter. "The Passion Without the Image." St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12 June 1966: 5C

1969

  • Hess, Thomas B. Barnett Newman. New York, 1969:58, 61-64

  • Dillenberger, Jane. Secular Art with Sacred Themes. New York, 1969:99-116

1971

  • Alloway, Lawrence. "Color, Culture, The Stations: Notes on Barnett Newman Memorial Exhibition." Artforum 4 (December 1971):31-39

1974

  • Paskus, Benjamin Garrison. "The Theory, Art and Critical Reception of Barnett Newman." Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1974:191

1977

  • Dillenberger, Jane and John Dillenberger. Perceptions of the Spirit in Twentieth Century Art. Exh. cat., Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1977:102-105

1978

  • Rosenberg, Harold. Barnett Newman. New York, 1978:20, 26-27, 150, 228, 240, repro.

  • Schulze, Franz. "The East Building: Trapezoid Triumphant." Art in America 4 (July-August 1978): 63, repro.

1989

  • Kramer, Hilton. "Modern Art at the National Gallery." The New Criterion 7, no. 8 (April 1989): 2-3.

  • Strick, Jeremy. Twentieth Century Painting and Sculpture: Selections for the Tenth Anniversary of the East Building. Washington, D.C., 1989: 90, repro. 91 (accession number given incorrectly as 198_5_.65.1-15).

1990

  • Dillenberger, Jane. "Appearance and Disappearance of God in Western Art," in Image and Spirit in Sacred and Secular Art. New York, 1990: 104-107, repro.

  • O'Neill, John P., ed. "A Conversation: Barnett Newman and Thomas B. Hess [1966]," in Barnett Newman: Selected Writings and Interviews. New York, 1990:273-286

1992

  • American Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 243, repro.

  • Ruhrberg, Karl. Die Malerie in Europa und Amerika 1945-1960: Die zweite Moderne. Cologne, 1992:no. 33, repro.

1994

  • From Minimal to Conceptual Art: Works from The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 14, fig. 15.

1995

  • Fineberg, Jonathan. Art Since 1940: Strategies of Being. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1995:105-106, repro.

1996

  • The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection: 1945 to 1995. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1996: no. 110.

1997

  • Otto Ritschl 1885-1976, Retrospective, Exh. cat. Museum Wiesbaden, Von de Heydt-Museum Wuppertal, 1997-1998, p. 113, repro.

  • Hughes, Robert. _ American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America_. New York, 1997: 494.

1998

  • Hazzikostas, Dimitri. "Grieving/Lamentation." Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, ed. Helene E. Roberts. 2 vols. Chicago and London, 1998: 1:370.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 440, 442, no. 362, color repro.

2013

  • Harris, Neil. Capital Culture: J. Carter Brown, the National Gallery of Art, and the Reinvention of the Museum Experience. Chicago and London, 2013: 412.

2017

  • Kennicott, Philip. "'Stations of the Cross' Draws Pilgrims to the National Gallery. Washington Post 140, no. 132 (April 16, 2017): E1, E8-E9, color fig.

Inscriptions

lower right: Barnett Newman 1958

Wikidata ID

Q20195030

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