JAKE BERTHOT (American, 1939-2015). Through the Veil, 1970, Acrylic on canvas. Verso signed, titled, and dated. Abstract painting characterized by a muted palette and subtle gradations of color. It features a square canvas or panel, predominantly filled with shades of brown and beige, with darker tones around the edges that create a sense of depth and texture. The painting is framed by a thin, light-colored border, which further accentuates the central composition.
ARTIST PROFILE: Jake Berthot was an American painter known for his abstract works that often explored the interplay between geometry, texture, and color. His work evolved over his career, moving from hard-edged abstraction to more organic and textured forms. In the 1980s, he incorporated distinctive oblong shapes within thick, painterly surfaces, while the 1990s saw him creating saturated, densely textured red abstractions. Later in his career, after moving upstate in 1994, his work transitioned to include representations of trees, though these remained anchored by an underlying grid and a focus on light and structure. Berthot's paintings are held in numerous notable museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. His artistic approach often involved a deep engagement with the materials and processes of painting, emphasizing the "romance of the studio" and the tactile experience of applying paint. - 80 x 88 Inches Estimate $1,200-2,200
Provenance: Purchased from O.K. Harris Gallery, New York, NY
