Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is a pastel drawing by Peter Doig. It dates from 1996 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Peter Doig’s untitled work, executed in pastel on paper in 1996, is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s collection. Though modest in scale, the piece exemplifies Doig’s interest in atmospheric scenes rendered through delicate, layered color.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a quiet waterfront setting: a pale‑yellow house with a dark roof and red trim stands behind a small, brown‑toned boat that drifts on water rendered in muted pinks and browns. The softened edges and muted palette evoke a sense of stillness and contemplation.
Technique & Style
Doig employs the pastel medium to build up gentle washes and subtle transitions, allowing forms to dissolve into one another. The impressionistic handling blurs architectural detail, emphasizing mood over precise representation.
History & Provenance
Created in the mid‑1990s, the drawing entered the Museum of Modern Art’s holdings shortly after its completion, where it remains on view as part of the institution’s contemporary drawing collection.
Context
During the 1990s Doig explored themes of memory and landscape, often drawing on personal recollections of remote locales. This work reflects that preoccupation, situating an ordinary domestic scene within an ambiguous, almost dream‑like environment.
Artist & collection
Artist
Peter Doig is a British painter who has lived and worked between England, Scotland, Trinidad, Canada, the USA and Germany. He settled in Trinidad with his family between 2002 and 2021, when he moved back to London.
