Leon Golub
United States
b. 1922

Seated Man, n.d.
Lithograph
29 1/4 x 21 1/4 in.
Sweeney Art Gallery Permanent Collection
Gift of Henry W. Coil, Jr.
96.1.165

Leon Golub's politically engaged body of work centers around the human figure and his abuse of power. In his early works he examined the artist as a divided soul and established himself as a leader of Chicago's figurative movement of the 1950's. Later he focused on issues of war, racism, and sexism as they occur in real-world events. Golub's persistent focus on socially charged themes was a potent challenge to the critical detachment of the dominant styles of Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. Golub uses a process-intensive style based on building up and then scraping away layers of paint. The result is richly textured surfaces that have a visceral quality to match the subject. In Seated Man both Golub's intensive study of the human figure and his expressive style of layering pigment and scraping or rubbing away areas are evident.

© UC Regents and the artist.