Footnotes

Provenance
Private Collection, New York
Jason McCoy, Inc., New York
Jefferey Hoffeld & Co., Inc, New York
Private Collection, New York; their sale, Sotheby's, New York, 9 May 1990, lot 162A
Acquired from the above by the present owner


Vividly coloured and marked by a striking composition, Study for Rabat, is a beautifully rendered work emblematic of Frank Stella's much celebrated output. The present work is a study for Stella's screenprint Untitled (Rabat) from 1964 featured in the portfolio X + X (Ten Works by Ten Painters), comprised of prints by Stella and other great artists such as Andy Warhol, Robert Indiana, Ellsworth Kelly, and others. This print portfolio is in the collections of many major institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York and Tate Britain, London. Study for Rabat is from Stella's series of works inspired by Morocco and is named for the Moroccan city. This series of work was informed in part by the exceptional geometric formations and vivid hues of Arabic tiles found across the different cities in Morocco for which the works in this series were titled.

The brilliant, confident colours combined with simplistic and measured bands imbue the work with an optical vitality that are illustrative of Stella's mastery of minimalist excellence. The high contrast in hues create a visual intensity that pulsates off the paper. A diagonal axis bisects the composition, marrying the bold rows of colour in a visually striking experience for the viewer. This tension distorts the flatness of the sheet and brings the work to life. A departure from Stella's previous series utilising the shaped canvas, the rigid square format of Study for Rabat allows the artist to prioritise the importance of colour to his work. Stella first gained prominence in the late 1950s for his series of Black Paintings, emphasizing the use of line, space, and perception in his paintings. Study for Rabat is a superb example of the artist investigating these concepts through a vibrant and stimulating new exploration.