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Collections

Knud Merrild
To Theo Van Gogh1951

On view:
Broad Contemporary Art Museum, floor 3
Vertical abstract painting with three black circular masses stacked on a beige ground, each containing organic white and red forms, surrounded by tangled golden yellow, red, and blue gestural lines
Artist or Maker
Knud Merrild
Title
To Theo Van Gogh
Place Made
United States
Date Made
1951
Medium
Oil on masonite
Dimensions
21 5/8 × 16 in. (54.93 × 40.64 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Knud Merrild
Accession Number
M.77.136.1
Classification
Paintings
Collecting Area
Modern Art
Curatorial Notes

After initially settling in New York, Danish artist Knud Merrild relocated to Los Angeles in 1923. Associated with Post-Surrealism, a West coast-based strain of Surrealism, Merrild produced whimsical compositions using unusual materials and techniques. His unique Flux paintings comprise fluid, colorful swirls of diluted pigment. Work such as To Theo Van Gogh was made by dripping paint onto a wet support and turning the surface, thus incorporating chance into the artmaking process.


Wall label, 2021.

Selected Bibliography
  • Langsner, Jules; W. Osmun and Knud Merrild. Knud Merrild 1894-1954. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1965.
Copyright
© Knud Merrild Estate