Artwork
Untitled
Untitled is an ink print by Reg Butler. It dates from 1955 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
About this work
Overview
Reg Butler's 1955 lithograph, Untitled, is a print work housed in The Museum of Modern Art's collection. The piece combines collage elements with lithographic technique to depict a horse set against a backdrop of rearranged newspaper clippings.
Subject & Meaning
The subject is a black horse with blurred legs, rendered in solid darkness, juxtaposed over a patchwork of vintage newspaper ads, notably for horse races and lottery pools. This composition suggests the horse emerging from a layered, textual past.
Technique & Style
Butler incorporated collage into his lithographic process, cutting and rearranging newspaper clippings to form the base image. The contrast between the horse's dark, defined form and the blurred legs and faded, fragmented background text creates a sense of depth and temporal layering.
History & Provenance
Created in 1955, the work is part of The Museum of Modern Art's collection, though specific acquisition details are not provided here.
Context
The use of newspaper clippings, especially those related to horse races, may allude to themes of chance, performance, or the intersection of everyday life with artistic representation, reflective of mid-20th-century artistic explorations of media and society.
Legacy
While specific influences or subsequent artistic impacts of this piece are not detailed, its blend of collage and lithography reflects broader experimental tendencies in post-war European and American art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Reginald Cotterell Butler was an English sculptor. He was born at Bridgefoot House, Buntingford, Hertfordshire to Frederick William Butler (1880–1937) and Edith (1880–1969), daughter of blacksmith William Barltrop, of…
