Proun 3A

© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
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Proun 3A

Russia, circa 1920
Paintings
Oil on canvas
28 x 23 in. (71.12 x 58.42 cm)
Purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. David E. Bright and the David E. Bright Bequest (86.3)
Modern Art
Currently on public view:
Broad Contemporary Art Museum, floor 3

Since gallery displays may change often, please contact us before you visit to make certain this item is on view.

Provenance

The artist (1898-1967), Paris and Brussels; [Galerie Le Centaure, Brussels]; sold in 1932 to E. L. T....
The artist (1898-1967), Paris and Brussels; [Galerie Le Centaure, Brussels]; sold in 1932 to E. L. T. Mesens (1903-1971), London; sold in 1957 to William (1919-1996) and Noma (1916-2006) Copley; [sold at Sotheby’s Parke-Bernet, New York May 17, 1978, Sale No. 4124, Lot 70]; to LACMA.
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Label

An acronym for “Project for the Affirmation of the New,” Proun referred to El Lissitzky’s desire to merge art and life—a process that he believed would occur in a new, utopian society....
An acronym for “Project for the Affirmation of the New,” Proun referred to El Lissitzky’s desire to merge art and life—a process that he believed would occur in a new, utopian society. Inspired by the idealist fervor of the Russian Revolution of 1917, the abstract, avant-garde compositions of the Proun series were conceived by Lissitzky as “stations” that combined two-dimensional painting and three-dimensional architecture. Proun 3A rejects traditional standards of perspective: its various geometric elements appear to hover weightlessly and lack any sense of relative scale. The absence of a horizon line suggests that the composition stretches to infinity.

Wall label, 2021.
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Bibliography

  • Powell III, Earl A., Robert Winter, and Stephanie Barron. The Robert O. Anderson Building. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1986.
  • Benson, Timothy O. Hans Richter: Encounters. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013.