Untitled 1964

This untitled painting was made by Thomas Downing at some point during his career as a Washington Color School painter. Downing and his contemporaries worked in Washington D.C. in the 1950s and 60s, at a time when the art world was dominated by New York. The Washington Color School sought to establish an independent identity from New York School, with the critic Clement Greenberg acting as an important advocate of these artists. They broke away from the angst-ridden gestural style of New York abstract expressionism by experimenting with color to create harmonious, non-referential compositions. Downing, in particular, developed what he termed a 'dot' painting style, which has been interpreted as a modernist grid. We can understand this work more fully when we reflect on the institutions of art that gave rise to it, drawing on contemporary periodicals and exhibition catalogues. By doing so, the meaning of the work becomes clear as being contingent on its social and institutional context.