Writing a Chrysanthemum: The Drawings of Rick Barton
Writing a Chrysanthemum: The Drawings of Rick Barton
Very little is known about Rick Barton (1928–1992), who, between 1958 and 1962, created hundreds of drawings of striking originality.
FREE
The Morgan Library & Museum
June 10, 2022 to September 11, 2022
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Artist details

Very little is known about Rick Barton (1928–1992), who, between 1958 and 1962, created hundreds of drawings of striking originality. His subjects range from the intimacy of his room to the architecture of Mexican cathedrals, and from the gathering places of Beat-era San Francisco to the sinuous contours of plants. Drawing almost exclusively in pen or brush and ink, he captured his subjects in a web of line that was sometimes simple and economical, but more often complex and kaleidoscopic.

Exhibition details

With the exception of small displays in cafés and bookshops in the 1950s and ‘60s, this exhibition of sixty drawings, two accordion-fold sketchbooks, and five printed works, is the first time Barton’s art is being seen by the public.

Location

The Morgan Library & Museum
225 Madison Ave
New York, NY

Image: Rick Barton, Untitled, 1959. Rick Barton papers (Collection 2374). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.