1951 Oil on Canvas Abstract Painting Signed by Irving Petlin

A 1951 oil on canvas abstract painting by American artist Irving Petlin (1934-2018). Signed and dated verso, shades of blue, black, and green come together to create an array of abstract shapes. A bright orange spot contrasts against the blue background at the center of the canvas. The painting is displayed in a brown frame.

Irving Petlin received his BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1956 during the height of the Chicago Imagists movement. In 1960, Petlin received his MFA from Yale, studying under Josef Albers during his time in graduate school. He was a founder and a participant in Artists and Writers Against the War in Vietnam, the Art Workers Coalition, the Art Strike, and the Venice Biennale. Petlin taught at a variety of universities, including the University of California, Los Angeles, the Cooper Union in New York, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia.