About the work

Carroll Sockwell was one of the most in-demand artists during the 1970s and 80s, participating in some 80 group shows and more than a dozen solo shows, exhibiting at the Whitney, the Brooklyn Museum, the Stadtische Galerie in Germany, the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, the Rice Museum, and other prestigious institutions. Sadly, his career was cut short when he ended his own life, while at that very time he was being celebrated at an extraordinarily well-received retrospective of his work.

Sockwell’s work is instantly recognizable as explorations of form and color, always expressionist but constantly traversing from hard-edged to gestural abstraction and back again.

An energetic example of gestural abstraction which is a study in energy and power and color while plainly remaining a work of pure abstraction.

Attributes	Value
Condition	Excellent Condition
Date	1980-2000
Type	Drawing, Washington Artists
Framing	Custom framed and matted using conservation materials
Medium	Crayon, Drawing on paper
Signing, Dating, and Titling	Unsigned

Medium:

Oil pastel on artist’s paper.

Date:

Circa 1980.

Signature:

Signed by the Artist, in pen, en verso. With the estate’s inventory number, in pencil.

Framing:

Framed in a solid maple frame with a clear finish behind 99% UV-blocking art glass using strictly conservation-grade materials.

Condition:

Excellent condition. Without observable handling marks or defects. Minimal migration of pastel dust; does not detract from the work.

Framed Size:

27.25 in. (h) x 32 in. (w) x 1 in. (d)

Sheet Size:

17.5 in. (h) x 23.25 in. (w)

Provenance:

From the Estate of the Artist

Catalogue Raisonné:

This work has been provisionally numbered 00939 in the artist’s catalogue raisonné (forthcoming).

Exhibition History:

Exhibited at “AM i THE BeST: Paintings, Assemblages, Drawings” at the Washington Arts Museum, curated by Sam Gilliam, 2004. Illustrated at page 6 of the catalog (which includes an essay by Walter Hopps).

Sale Restrictions:

This work is available for sale only to public and important private collections.

Copyright:

Copyright Estate of Carroll Sockwell.