Herman Maril
Excavation
1966
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Herman Maril
Excavation
1966
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas, 24 × 30 in. (61 × 76.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Daniel B. Hirschhorn, Michael J. Hirschhorn, Deborah H. Vogelstein, and Sarah H. Shapiro, in Memory of their Parents, David and Barbara B. Hirschhorn
Object Number
2019.56
Excavation depicts an urban landscape rendered in Maril’s signature blocky chunks of color. Two figures at right oversee a building’s demolition and excavation. At their feet lie three enormous sections of green pipe in varying widths. Maril’s cubist application of paint in large scrubbed swatches creates a feeling of destabilization and ambiguity in the depiction of space.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2019; collection of David and Barbara B. Hirschhorn, Baltimore; Forum Gallery, New York
Inscribed: Signed LR: Herman Maril Verso: Ttitle on the canvas "Excavation 24 x 30 inches"; (Adhered label) Forum Gallery identifies the artist, title, date (1967) and gallery inventory number (FO #5601)