Frank Stella

American, 1936-2024

Jill

Frank Stella (American, born 1936). Jill, 1959. Enamel on canvas, 90 3/8 x 78 3/4 inches (229.6 x 200 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1962 (K1962:1). © Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

© Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

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© Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

© Frank Stella / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Image downloads are for educational use only. For all other purposes, please see our Obtaining and Using Images page.

Jill, 1959

Artwork Details

Currently on View

Collection Highlight

Materials

enamel on canvas

Measurements

support: 90 3/8 x 78 3/4 inches (229.55 x 200.03 cm); framed: 91 1/2 x 80 x 2 inches (232.41 x 203.2 x 5.08 cm)

Collection Buffalo AKG Art Museum

Credit

Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1962

Accession ID

K1962:1

Frank Stella first came to the attention of the art world around 1960 with a series of austere geometric canvases known as the Black Paintings. When Stella first exhibited them, they were received as rather mute, inert, and even nihilistic. The compositions of these nearly two-dozen works fall into two general formats: the earlier paintings are rectilinear, while the later ones, such as Jill, are based on diamond patterns. Stella began this series by drawing lines with a pencil and ruler. The black stripes were then painted freehand using enamel and a two and a half inch wide housepainter’s brush. The off-white stripes between the black are simply the raw canvas breathing through. With these works, Stella aimed to reject the past and create something altogether new. Although this particular painting is named after a girl that Stella knew, its composition demonstrates his desire to move away from any representational illusion as well as the emotional content found in works by the preceding generation of Abstract Expressionist painters. Stella’s goal was to treat the work’s imagery as no more or less than the sum of its physical components—in this case, paint and canvas.

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