Earl Hubbard “George Washington” Large Pop Art Portrait, Liquitex Polymer, 28", 1960s

Details

Description

A striking large-scale George Washington portrait by American artist Earl Wade Hubbard (1924–2003), executed in Liquitex polymer in Hubbard's distinctive … Read more A striking large-scale George Washington portrait by American artist Earl Wade Hubbard (1924–2003), executed in Liquitex polymer in Hubbard's distinctive high-contrast graphic style.

Measuring an impressive 28" × 28", the composition reduces Washington's familiar likeness to dramatic fields of black and white. Facial features emerge through negative space, giving the work a remarkably modern presence that bridges Mid-Century Modernism, Pop Art and graphic abstraction.

The work bears Hubbard's distinctive “H” artist mark near the lower edge.

This larger portrait is especially interesting in relation to Hubbard's documented black-and-white portrait work of the 1960s. A related set of four smaller Hubbard portrait studies dated 1968 survives in the same graphic vocabulary, suggesting a sustained exploration of radically simplified figurative imagery during this period. Please see the related listing in my shop.

Hubbard was active as an American painter and sculptor, and his professional connections are documented in the archival records of important New York galleries including Perls Galleries and Frank K. M. Rehn Galleries, whose records are preserved by the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.

This museum-scale work belongs to Hubbard's iconic 'Heroes of Today' series, famously displayed in a solo exhibition at the Gallery of Modern Art in New York City (1965).

Presented in its slim silver-tone frame, the piece has tremendous graphic impact and would work beautifully in a Mid-Century Modern, contemporary, Brutalist or collected modernist interior.

Artist: Earl Wade Hubbard (1924–2003)
Subject: George Washington
Medium: Liquitex polymer
Dimensions: 28"W × 28"H
Period: Mid-20th century / circa 1960s, pending confirmation
Style: Mid-Century Modern / Pop Art / Graphic Modernism


Condition: Good vintage condition consistent with age and use. Surface and frame show age-appropriate wear as photographed. Please review all photographs as part of the condition description. See less