Untitled [seated nude with her left arm swung behind] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this untitled drawing of a seated nude with ink on paper. Though undated, it likely comes from the 1960s when he returned to figurative work after an abstract expressionist phase. Diebenkorn created this piece during the height of the feminist movement. It's impossible to look at this image of a nude woman without considering the long history of the nude in Western art, often a product of the male gaze and power dynamics of gender. Here, the rough, unidealized depiction of the female form, and the sitter's averted gaze challenges traditional conventions. The model’s nonchalant pose and expression subvert the objectification often present in such works. Art historians consult many sources – letters, diaries, reviews, sales records – in order to build up our understanding of the place of images like this within the broader cultural and institutional landscape of their time.