No. 265

Artist Ed Garman American, 1914–2004

Date1942

MediumOil on pressed wood board

DimensionsSight: 23 5/8 x 22 3/8 in. (60 x 56.8 cm)
Frame: 25 1/8 x 25 1/8 in. (63.8 x 63.8 cm)

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineBequest of Fannie and Alan Leslie

Object number2006.21.6

On View

Not on view

Label TextIn the 1940s Garman was an important member of the Transcendental Painting Group, a New Mexico– based association of abstract painters who, in the words of the group, sought “to stimulate in others, through deep and spontaneous emotional experiences of form and color, a more intense participation in the life of the spirit.”

Throughout his time with the group, Garman developed a sophisticated theory called dynamic painting. He based this theory on an early interest in theater design, and he used geometric shapes to function like actors on a stage or screen. In his dramatic compositions, contrasting elements of movement and rest imitate life and its various rhythms.
[2024]ProvenanceThe artist, Imperial Beach, CA; sold to Fannie and Alan Leslie, Palm Springs, CA, n.d.; bequeathed to NCMA, 2006.
Published ReferencesJohn Coffey, "Modern American Paintings from the Bequest of Fannie and Alan Leslie," in Preview: The Magazine of the North Carolina Museum of Art (Winter 2008), briefly discussed 9, detail (color) 6-7.
Exhibition HistoryRaleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "Modern American Paintings from the Bequest of Fannie and Alan Leslie," November 25, 2007-[?]

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection Reimagined," May 6, 2024-May 12, 2025. Object Rights Statement

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