Matisse Window

Artist George Bireline American, 1923–2002

Date1964

MediumAcrylic on canvas

Dimensions72 x 56 in. (182.9 x 142.2 cm)
Frame: 73 1/2 x 57 1/2 x 2 1/8 in. (186.7 x 146.1 x 5.4 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Frances M. and William R. Roberson, Jr.

Object number98.4.1

On View

Not on view

Label TextMany of the Abstract Expressionist paintings George Bireline made during the 1950s and early 1960s, however abstract, include the suggestion of a window. Bireline, on the faculty of North Carolina State University at the time, recognized the window image as a means of making a visual commentary on spatial relationships. A serious student of art history, he took as his starting point the traditional idea of a painting as a window into a fictional space. His next step was to paint a picture of a window itself. Matisse Window gives off a brilliant glow but exudes an appealing calm. Simply structured, the composition establishes a sense of space.

The title pays tribute to Bireline's source of inspiration: Henri Matisse's early-twentieth-century views of Nice, France, many of which incorporate window imagery.
ProvenanceCreated Raleigh, NC, 1964; collection of the artist; [Peden Gallery, Raleigh]; William R. Roberson Jr., Bath, NC, 1991; given to NCMA, 1998.
Published ReferencesMichele Natale, "Home for the Holidays," (exhibition review) Raleigh: Spectator (December 9, 1998), briefly discussed.

Susan Farrington, "A splash of color," (exhibition review) The Sanford Herald (March 9, 2003), mentioned and illus.

Huston Paschal, entry for Matisse Window, in North Carolina Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2010), 496, illus. (color) 497.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "A North Carolina Collection: Recent Acquisitions from the Gift of Frances M. and William R. Roberson, Jr.," October 18, 1998-February 14, 1999.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "In Memoriam: George Bireline (1923-2002)," December 18, 2002-August 3, 2003.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Objects of Desire: The Museum Collects, 1994-2004," July 18, 2004-February 27, 2005. Object Rights Statement

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