Pat Steir
Yellow and White, 2018
Oil on canvas
48 x 48 inches (121.9 x 121.9 cm)
© Pat Steir Photo by Tom Powel Imaging, Inc.
Acclaimed (then overlooked) during five decades, the painter hits a new tempo in life and art with a show at the Barnes, a documentary and a seven-figure sale.
“Chance can give you a gift,” said Pat Steir, offering a preview of 11 just-completed paintings in her studio in Chelsea. The petite, monastically dressed, 78-year-old artist stood before a monumental black painting, with a row of broad white strokes from which rivulets of pigment spilled down the dark ground.
Ms. Steir allowed the random shower from each brush stroke to determine the composition without further intervention. “In some way, the paintings paint themselves,” she said.