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Nine Golden Orbs

1959

Images

Nine Golden Orbs, a painting of three horizontal rows of three golden orbs against a red background

Nine Golden Orbs

1959

Oil on canvas

27 9/16 x 23 5/8 in. (70 x 60 cm)

 

Photo: Courtesy of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Artwork: © Star of Hope Foundation, Vinalhaven, Maine

Detail from Indiana's journal page for January 10, 1959, which contains a black and white sketch of Nine Golden Orbs

Detail from Robert Indiana's journal page for January 10, 1959

 

Courtesy Star of Hope Foundation, Vinalhaven, Maine

Robert Indiana's journal entry for December 30, 1959 featuring a sketch of Nine Golden Orbs indicating the color placement

Robert Indiana's journal entry for December 30, 1959

 

Courtesy Star of Hope Foundation, Vinalhaven, Maine

Description

. . . I took up a canvas and made a start on a theme I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since the central panel of the crucifix was conceived: the massing of orbs: surely a provocative idea in our near Space Age—this is temporarily "The Ninth State" [the painting’s original title].

—Robert Indiana

 

Excerpt from artist’s journal, dated January 10, 1959.