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Student Artwork Guide

Pungent Distances

Morris Louis, 1961

Name Class Date
Morris Louis, Pungent Distances (1961). Reproduced for reference; rights reserved by the rights holder. See this canvas under a moving light: the drawing, the true colour under the varnish, the bare pigment

The facts

Artist
Morris Louis originaluniqueart.com/en/artists/morris-louis/
Artist’s dates
1912 – 1962
Painted
1961
Original size
232 x 151 cm
Movement
Post-Painterly Abstraction

Copyright This work is still under copyright. Morris Louis died in 1962; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it remains in force until 2032. The image is shown here for classroom reference; rights remain with the rights holder.

Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 7, 2026

Pungent Distances — Morris Louis Part 1 · The artwork

In context

Pungent Distances — Morris Louis

How big is it?

The original measures 232 × 151 cm (height × width), drawn here beside an adult of average height. It is too large to draw to scale on this page.

When was this painted?

  1. 1910
  2. 1920
  3. 1930
  4. 1940
  5. 1950
  6. 1960

Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 50 at death.

Painted when the artist was 49. The artist lived to 50. 53 of the 89 dated works by this artist in our catalogue came earlier.

Shaded: the lifetime of Morris Louis (1912–1962) ▲ this work, 1961 every dated painting, decade by decade

First works: up to 1959 Main working years: 1959–1961 Late works: from 1961

Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them

Compare with

  • VAV, 1960 originaluniqueart.com/en/art/morris-louis-vav-D2DNHZ-en/
  • Ambi I, 1960 originaluniqueart.com/en/art/morris-louis-ambi-i-D2DNJ7-en/
  • Seal, 1959 originaluniqueart.com/en/art/morris-louis-seal-D3J8DT-en/

Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.

More works to set beside this one: originaluniqueart.com/en/art/similar/morris-louis-pungent-distances-D2U5BU-en/

Colours

Measured from the image

    Main colour

    Rosy Brown #d2b396

    Catalogued palette

    • #D2B396
    • #65422B
    • #DF9516
    • #EBD0B3

    These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour

    Palette
    Neutrals The dominant colour family in the image.
    Main colour name
    Rosy Brown
    Intensity
    Vivid How saturated and varied the colours are, from a single toned-down hue to many bright ones.
    Contrast
    Statement How much the colours differ in lightness and saturation across the picture.
    Harmony
    Strong Color Unity How well the colours work together, from clashing to fully unified.
    Brightness
    Brilliant How light or dark the picture reads overall, from deep shadow to bright highlight.
    Saturation
    Balanced Soft How pure and strong the colours are, from near-grey to fully vivid.

    Where in the world is this painting looked at?

    • under 1%
    • 1–3%
    • 3–8%
    • 8–20%
    • 20% and over
    This painting alone has too few recorded visitors to map, so the plate reads every work by Morris Louis over the last twelve months — 5 countries in all. Where these figures come from

    The ten leading countries

    1. 1 China 80.0%2,400 visits
    2. 2 Italy 6.7%200 visits
    3. 3 United States of America 6.7%200 visits
    4. 4 Japan 3.3%100 visits
    5. 5 Türkiye 3.3%100 visits

    Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.

    The 20 most looked-at works by Morris Louis

    1. 1 Where, 1960 6.2%300 visits
    2. 2 Saraband, 1959 6.2%300 visits
    3. 3 Para III, 1959 6.2%300 visits
    4. 4 Broad Turning, 1958 4.2%200 visits
    5. 5 Blue Veil, 1958 4.2%200 visits
    6. 6 1-33, 1962 4.2%200 visits
    7. 7 Pungent Distances, 1961 this painting 4.2%200 visits
    8. 8 Number 6, 1962 4.2%200 visits
    9. 9 Gamma Tau, 1960 4.2%200 visits
    10. 10 Dalet Kaf, 1959 4.2%200 visits
    11. 11 Alpha-Pi, 1960 4.2%200 visits
    12. 12 Number 99, 1960 4.2%200 visits
    13. 13 Gamma Lambda 2.1%100 visits
    14. 14 Number 2-07, 1961 2.1%100 visits
    15. 15 Approach, 1962 2.1%100 visits
    16. 16 Dalet Tet, 1959 2.1%100 visits
    17. 17 K S I, 1959 2.1%100 visits
    18. 18 Saf Aleph, 1959 2.1%100 visits
    19. 19 Number 1-68, 1962 2.1%100 visits
    20. 20 Ambi II, 1959 2.1%100 visits

    Together these works take 73.2% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 92 works by this artist, of which 33 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 7 of them, with 4.2% of that attention (200 visits). The same counts, month by month

    Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 7, 2026

    Pungent Distances — Morris Louis Part 2 · In context

    About this artwork

    Pungent Distances — Morris Louis

    Spare in design, but arresting in visual effect, Pungent Distances is part of a substantial group of paintings of stripes that Louis produced in the early 1960s. His pigment thinned with turpentine and his canvas stapled to a wall, the artist worked with controlled chance to create the impression that gravity produced the abstract design—even as the stripes’ upward trajectory seems to work against it. Louis’s thin paint merges with his unprimed canvas, becoming integral to its flat surface. He had adopted the technique of staining the canvas from Helen Frankenthaler, while the stripe motif recalls the vertical "zips" of Barnett Newman. The prominent critic Clement Greenberg applied the term "post-painterly abstraction" to works like this, by artists who sought to tame the highly pitched emotion of Abstract Expressionism of the previous decade.

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 7, 2026

    Pungent Distances — Morris Louis Part 3 · About this artwork

    Artist and museum

    Artist

    Morris Louis

    Born in Baltimore, United States of America

    Early Life and Education

    Born: Morris Louis Bernstein, November 28, 1912, Baltimore, Maryland

    Parents: Louis Bernstein (furniture salesman) and Cecelia Luckman Bernstein.

    Education: Attended public schools in Baltimore; Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts (now MICA), 1929-1932. Did not complete a degree.

    Early influences included Eugene Speicher and Paul Cézanne.

    Showed an early interest in art, encouraged by his family despite limited opportunities in Baltimore.

    Development as an Artist & Key Influences

    1930s: Worked various odd jobs to support himself while painting (vegetable peeling, laundry work, Gallup Poll research).

    1934-1936: Participated in the Public Works of Art Project mural project under Sam Swerdloff.

    1936-1937: Moved to New York City; experimented with techniques at the Siqueiros Workshop.

    Magna Paint Discovery (1948): A pivotal moment – Louis pioneered the use of Magna paint, a newly developed oil-based acrylic paint created for him by Leonard Bocour and Sam Golden. This allowed for greater fluidity and transparency in his work.

    Influence of Helen Frankenthaler: In 1953, Louis and Kenneth Noland visited Frankenthaler's studio and were deeply impressed by her stain paintings (particularly "Mountains and Sea"). This inspired their experimentation with pouring and staining techniques.

    The Veil Paintings & Color Field Innovations

    Mature Veil Paintings (1954): Characterized by overlapping, superimposed layers of transparent color poured onto and stained into sized or unsized canvas.

    Technique: Extremely diluted paint was applied to an unprimed, unstretched canvas, allowing it to flow over the inclined surface, creating translucent color veils. This eliminated brushstrokes and emphasized flatness.

    Color Field Painting: Louis became a central figure in Color Field painting, simplifying pictorial space and emphasizing flat planes of intense color. He was part of the Washington Color School movement.

    Series & Styles: Beyond the Veil paintings, he explored series like florals, columns (1960), unfurleds (1960-61) – featuring rivulets of opaque color – and stripe paintings (1961-62).

    Major Achievements & Historical Significance

    Pioneering Color Field Painting: Louis is recognized as a key innovator in Color Field painting, alongside artists like Kenneth Noland and Helen Frankenthaler.

    Influence on Abstract Expressionism: His work expanded the boundaries of Abstract Expressionism by focusing on color and flatness rather than gesture or composition.

    Washington Color School: A significant contributor to this influential movement, which emphasized a reductive approach to painting.

    Destruction of Works: Notably, Louis destroyed many of his paintings between 1955 and 1957, reflecting a critical self-assessment of his work.

    Legacy: His emphasis on color, flatness, and the materiality of paint continues to influence contemporary artists.

    Later Years & Death

    Louis continued painting prolifically until his death.

    Death: Died September 7, 1962, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 49.

    Memorial Exhibition (1963): A significant exhibition was held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum shortly after his death.

    Retrospective Exhibitions: Major retrospectives followed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (1967), and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1976).

    Where to read more

    Find this online

    QR code linking to the download page for Pungent Distances

    originaluniqueart.com/en/art/download/morris-louis-pungent-distances-D2U5BU-en/

    Cite this artwork

    MLA
    Louis, Morris. Pungent Distances. 1961, https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/morris-louis-pungent-distances-D2U5BU-en/
    APA
    Louis, Morris (1961). Pungent Distances [Painting]. https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/morris-louis-pungent-distances-D2U5BU-en/
    Chicago
    Morris Louis. Pungent Distances. 1961. https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/morris-louis-pungent-distances-D2U5BU-en/
    Harvard
    Louis, Morris (1961) Pungent Distances. Available at: https://originaluniqueart.com/en/art/morris-louis-pungent-distances-D2U5BU-en/

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 7, 2026

    Pungent Distances — Morris Louis Part 4 · Artist and museum

    Look closely

    Pungent Distances — Morris Louis

    Look closely

    Answer in your own words. There are no wrong answers here — only answers you can explain.

    1. What catches your eye first, and why?
    2. Which colours or shapes create the mood — and what is that mood?
    3. Our catalogue files this work under: abstract color, striped composition, color field painting. Do you agree? What would you add, or take away?
    4. Look back at VAV (1960), earlier in this guide. Name two things it shares with this work, and one that is different.
    5. Morris Louis was about 49 when this was made. What in it looks like the work of an artist at that stage?

    Your response

    Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.

    Source: OriginalUniqueArt.com — accessed Oct. 7, 2026

    Pungent Distances — Morris Louis Part 5 · Look closely

    Questions & Answers

    Where does "Pungent Distances" sit within Morris Louis's body of work?

    "Pungent Distances" belongs to Morris Louis's Post-Painterly Abstraction work, whose recorded themes include color field innovation, action painting echoes, newman's verticality", frankenthaler's stain, post-expressionist shift, washington color school", exploring chromatic space".

    Can the image of "Pungent Distances" by Morris Louis be freely reproduced?

    Regarding copyright, "Pungent Distances" is still protected by copyright.

    Where can I see a preview of "Pungent Distances"?

    The Preview page of "Pungent Distances" lets you preview the artwork before ordering.