Untitled [back of female nude: head to buttocks] 1955 - 1967

Richard Diebenkorn made this untitled drawing of a female nude with graphite on paper. It’s difficult to know the date of this drawing, but most likely it was produced sometime in the mid-twentieth century in the United States. Diebenkorn was part of a generation of artists whose careers were shaped by academic art institutions, as well as by the social and political climate of the Cold War. During that time, there was a vogue for abstract art. However, Diebenkorn turned away from those trends and instead created representational images, like this nude. Nude art in Europe and the United States has a long institutional history, often associated with academic training. But, as with other types of art, it is worth looking at the social context in which it was made. There are a variety of research resources we might consult in order to better understand the position of the nude in American visual culture. The interpretation of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.