After a distinguished early career as an abstract painter, Richard Diebenkorn (1922–1993) focused almost exclusively on the human figure from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s. With noted Bay Area painters David Park, Elmer Bischoff, Theophilus Brown, and Frank Lobdell,  Diebenkorn drew regularly from live models. In his introduction to this volume, Sonoma painter Chester Arnold says, “[Diebenkorn] rarely paid academic homage to anatomy, yet the accuracy of his readings yields that rare fusion of knowing and questioning, of grace and impetuousness that give his drawings their dignity and power.“ The majority of the 99 images reproduced are previously unpublished and available here for the first time.

 

 

The book is published in connection with an exhibition of the Richard Diebenkorn Foundation:

The Intimate Diebenkorn: Works on Paper, 1949–1992
College of Marin Fine Arts Gallery Kentfield, Calif., September 28 – November 20, 2013

The show will travel to:
Natalie & James Thompson Gallery San Jose State University San Jose, Calif., April 15 – May 17, 2014
Katzen Arts Center American University Washington, D.C., November 8 – December 14, 2014
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art Sonoma, Calif., June 6 – August 23, 2015
Montana Museum of Art & Culture The University of Montana Missoula, Mo., September 24 – December 12, 2015