Artist: R.B. Kitaj (American, 1932–2007) Title: Study for ‘Yellow Interior’ Date: 1984 Medium: Mixed media (Charcoal, pastel, and wash) on paper Dimensions: 7” x 5” Inscriptions: "Study: ‘Yellow Interior’ ‘84" "Same format as ‘Red’ & ‘Blue’ - texture” “W&N Chrome Yellow - Deliniate w Prussian blue” “Push Head to Rt hand corner - thumb “jerks” attention to interior” Provenance: This work was acquired from a prominent Northern Virginia estate featuring a collection that included high value works, mostly centered around abstraction and modernism. Summary I was told that this is an original work by R.B. Kitaj. The piece is unsigned. The geometric stage of this study directly mirrors Kitaj’s "4am" (1984-85). Both works utilize the same extreme perspective and the corner peering figure to create a sense of voyeurism. It is our opinion the figure in the work is a self portrait. The rendering, specifically the thick round glasses and the mole on the subject’s right cheek, is consistent with Kitaj’s self portraits and physical features. Kitaj had a known perpensity towards chrome yellow. Kitaj would refer to his workshop as his “Yellow Studio”: a bright chrome yellow building on his property. The handwriting on the piece matches the handwriting found in R.B.Kitaj artist book ‘A Sight’ by Creeley. The piece is an explicitly labeled study intended to complete a triad of monochrome studio spaces, directly referencing Kitaj's seminal works.

7” x 5”