Head VII
Maker
Leon Golub
(American, 1922 - 2004)
Date1957
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions27 3/16 x 17 1/16 in. (69 x 43.3 cm)
Framed: 31 1/4 × 21 1/4 in. (79.4 × 54 cm)
Framed: 31 1/4 × 21 1/4 in. (79.4 × 54 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin A. Bergman
CopyrightCopyright managed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Collections
Object number1982.1
Status
Not on viewLeon Golub was a leading figure of the Monster Roster, a group of artists working in Chicago during the 1950s. Like his contemporaries, Golub was interested in creating psychologically charged figurative works as evidence in Head VII. The paintings in this series, which were stylistically informed by Roman portrait heads, evoked the deep post-war anxiety felt by many of the Monster Roster artists. Of his work, he explained,
“I am simply a reporter. I report on these monsters because these monsters actually exist. This is not make believe; this is not fantasy; this is not symbolism. It is but it isn’t. These situations which call these forces into existence actually exist.”
“I am simply a reporter. I report on these monsters because these monsters actually exist. This is not make believe; this is not fantasy; this is not symbolism. It is but it isn’t. These situations which call these forces into existence actually exist.”
