Untitled [side view of female nude leaning on an armchair] 1955 - 1967

Editor: This is an untitled pencil drawing by Richard Diebenkorn, created sometime between 1955 and 1967. It depicts a female nude leaning on an armchair. I’m struck by how raw and vulnerable it feels, but also by the power and presence of the figure despite the unfinished lines. What do you see in this piece, considering the cultural context of the time? Curator: Well, it’s impossible to separate this from the shifts in postwar art, particularly in California where Diebenkorn was working. Think about the dominance of Abstract Expressionism, and then this figure emerging, a clear return to figuration but not in a traditional, idealized way. What does the presence of the nude mean when seen in contrast to both the traditional academic figure and the ascendant abstract art? Is it an embrace or a critique? Editor: That's interesting. So it's like a push and pull between representation and abstraction? Curator: Exactly! And consider the gaze of the figure; it's averted, inward, maybe even slightly melancholic. How does that contribute to the reading of the nude figure, and its relationship to the art market and viewer expectation at the time? Was Diebenkorn subverting the traditional power dynamic of the male gaze? Editor: That’s a really compelling point! The averted gaze definitely changes the power dynamic compared to, say, a pin-up. It almost feels more like a private moment. Curator: Yes, it introduces a psychological dimension. And doesn’t that prompt you to ask why *this* image was deemed appropriate for display and public consumption at the time, versus other possible treatments of the nude? The institution always influences what's seen. Editor: This drawing is making me reconsider what it meant to be both figurative and modern in the mid-20th century. Thanks for opening up new ways of interpreting it! Curator: My pleasure! It's fascinating how looking at art through its historical and cultural lenses enriches our appreciation.