Moultonville III
- L4
Frank Stella stated that a picture is "a flat surface with paint on it-nothing more." His rejection of imagery and expressive gestures is reflected in a lack of subject matter and the flatness of the paint in Moultonville III. The nothing more-ness extends to the title, too. It is simply words without a connection to content or meaning.
Stella's arrangement of colors in Moultonville III creates optical effects with the geometric forms appearing to advance and recede in space. "Rather than having the painting full of gestures, the painting itself became a gesture," he explained.
With Leo Castelli Inc. New York, by 1967;
Purchased from Leo Castelli Inc. by the Friends of the Art, Kansas City, MO, 1967;
Their gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1967.
