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Image

One corner of this drawing points up, so that the cup appears to be spilling coffee as it tips right.
  • One corner of this drawing points up, so that the cup appears to be spilling coffee as it tips right.

Elizabeth Murray

Spill One

Description

Maker

Elizabeth Murray (American, 1940-2007)

Title

Spill One

Year

1981

Medium

  • Charcoal and oil pastel on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • Charcoal and oil pastel on paper

Materials

charcoal

Supports

  • Heavy textured rag paper

Dimensions

135.9 x 139.1 cm (53 1/2 x 54 3/4 inches) (trapezoid)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Pearl and Ernest Nathan Purchase Fund

Object Number

82.024

Type

  • Drawings and Watercolors

Projects & Publications

Publications

Pub_ID 41 What Nerve v_01.jpg
  • Books

What Nerve! Alternative Figures in American Art, 1960 to the Present

Read Online ›

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Webs, Loops, and Skeins in Modern and Contemporary Art
Feb 24, 2006 – Apr 23, 2006

Label copy

Murray belongs to a generation of artists who reintroduced imagery and gestural mark-making to the predominantly cool, reductive aesthetic of the 1970s. This drawing was made during the year in which she began presenting recognizable subject matter, and its repeated circular forms are reminiscent of the abstract spirals of her previous work. The exuberance with which she depicts the coffee cup is characteristic of her best pieces, as is the unusual shape of the sheet. One might venture to see her fascination with spills, a recurring theme in her work, as a nod to the action of Pollock’s drip technique.

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Tombstone

Elizabeth Murray (American, 1940-2007)
Spill One, 1981
Charcoal and oil pastel on paper
135.9 x 139.1 cm (53 1/2 x 54 3/4 inches) (trapezoid)
Pearl and Ernest Nathan Purchase Fund 82.024

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We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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