Joseph Stella

Nativity
1919–1920

A vibrant and colorful abstract painting featuring a central tree-like form with a blue and yellow canopy against a backdrop of flowing shapes and a large blue cloud-like form at the top. The painting combines elements of nature with a dreamlike, surreal quality, using a palette of blues, greens, yellows, and pinks. The borders of the canvas are painted in gold, giving the artwork a framed appearance.

A vibrant and colorful abstract painting featuring a central tree-like form with a blue and yellow canopy against a backdrop of flowing shapes and a large blue cloud-like form at the top. The painting combines elements of nature with a dreamlike, surreal quality, using a palette of blues, greens, yellows, and pinks. The borders of the canvas are painted in gold, giving the artwork a framed appearance.

Not on view

Date
1919–1920

Classification
Drawings

Medium
Oil pastel and oil on paper

Dimensions
Sheet (Irregular): 37 × 19 5/16in. (94 × 49.1 cm)

Accession number
31.469

Credit line
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase

Rights and reproductions
© artist or artist’s estate

API
artworks/2978

Exhibitions

At the Dawn of a New Age: Early Twentieth-Century American Modernism

May 7, 2022–Feb 26, 2023
American Legends: From Calder to O’Keeffe

Dec 22, 2012–June 29, 2014
Breaking Ground: The Whitney’s Founding Collection

Apr 28–Sept 18, 2011
Highlights from the Permanent Collection: From Hopper to Mid-Century

Feb 25, 2000–May 20, 2006

Joseph Stella
21 works in the collection

View artist