George L.K. Morris was an important advocate for an “American abstract art” during the 1930s and 40s. He devoted his career to both avant-garde painting and sculpture, and was also deeply involved in art writing and criticism. He co-founded the American Abstract Artists (AAA) group aimed to distinguish abstract, non-representational art from expressionism, realism, surrealism, and other artistic currents of the era. While his formal training was completed at the Yale School of Art and the Art Students League, Morris was most informed by his exposure to the cubist artists of Paris. He was labeled one of the “Park Avenue Cubists” along with his wife Suzy Frelinghuysen, Charles Green Shaw and Albert E. Gallatin.

The present work is a wonderful example of Morris’ distinct abstract style. Interestingly, it was part of the collection of Happy and Nelson A. Rockefeller for decades.