Barnett NewmanAmerican, 1905–1970Yellow Painting
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “Yellow Painting” now? National Gallery of Art, Gallery 404C · East Building, Upper Level, Washington, D.C. Yes, on view now. Checked September 29, 2026.
Open now· until 5:00 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1988.57.3
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- National Gallery of Art
- Image: National Gallery of Art — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Barnett Newman
The whole life1947
A mature style and a declaration on art’s content
Reaches his mature style — in 1946–1947 he paints “The Command” and “The Euclidean Abyss” — and declares that any art worthy of the name must address “life”, “man”, “nature”, “death” and “tragedy”.
1947
Death of his father
His father, Abraham, dies; two years later his name will be given to one of Newman’s darkest paintings.
1948
The Subjects of the Artist school
With William Baziotes, Mark Rothko, Robert Motherwell and David Hare he founds the Subjects of the Artist School at 35 East 8th Street; its well-attended public lectures feature speakers such as Jean Arp, John Cage and Ad Reinhardt.
spring 1949
The Subjects of the Artist school closes
The Subjects of the Artist School fails financially and closes in the spring of 1949.
1950
First solo exhibition and crushing reviews
Stages his first solo exhibition, at the Betty Parsons Gallery, and it is met with devastating criticism. Other accounts date the debut to 1948; soon after his first exhibition, at the Artists’ Session at Studio 35, Newman remarks that artists are, to a certain extent, making the world in their own image.
1950–1958
An eight-year pause
After the harsh reception he takes an eight-year pause, devoting it to developing his mastery; the result is the retrospective of 1958.
