While New York City’s art scene in the 1950s and ’60s revolved around Abstract Expressionism, multidisciplinary artist Sol LeWitt paved an alternative path, creating a prolific output of work in the genres of minimalism and, later, Conceptual art.
While LeWitt is perhaps best known for his immense “wall drawings,” he created work in a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. (However, in a characteristic rebuttal of canonical art history, he referred to these pieces as “structures.”) He also produced several texts, including the seminal Sentences on Conceptual Art (1969).
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1928, LeWitt received a BFA from Syracuse University before going to work as a graphic designer for the renowned architect I.M. Pei. He would later work at the book counter at the Museum of Modern Art, where his colleagues included fellow artists. LeWitt’s early exposure to architecture may well have had outsize influence on his subsequent career: He was known for the geometric nature of his work, specifically his fastidious, near-obsessive treatment of the cube, which he rendered repeatedly in various ways throughout his paintings, structures and wall drawings.
In the 1960s, LeWitt showed in several group exhibitions throughout New York and also began to experiment with three-dimensional structures, most modular riffs on the cube shape. His work was included in “Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art,” curated by Mel Bochner, another leading exponent of Conceptualism.
Later, LeWitt debuted his now-iconic wall drawings, creating work directly on the walls of galleries and show spaces, beginning with pioneering gallerist Paula Cooper’s inaugural show in 1968. The wall drawings became a prime example of LeWitt’s philosophical approach to art, with their installation often carried out by museum staff or curators following precise instructions from the artist.
“The idea,” the artist once said, “becomes a machine that makes the art.” LeWitt continued to produce work until his death in 2007.
Find a collection of original Sol LeWitt art on 1stDibs.
A sphere lit from the top, four sides and all their combinations
By Sol LeWitt
Located in New York, NY
This artwork by Sol Lewitt is offered by CLAMP in New York City. A sphere lit from the top, four sides and all their combinations 2004 Signed and numbered in pencil, verso Archiva...
Archival Pigment
$444
H 16 in W 12 in D 0.1 in
'Milk Jug, Red Tulips' Limited Edition Photograph. Minimal Botanical Still Life
By Sophia Milligan
Located in Penzance, GB
'Milk Jug, Red Tulips' Limited edition (#2 of 25) archival black and white photograph. Unframed. _________________ Sophia's poetic photographs are an exploration of the balance in all things: in the sensual interplay of light and shadow; in virile life and peaceful dormancy; in the enduring and the effervescent. They are a contemplation of the ephemeral nature of all things. Archival photograph 12...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
Tea'd Off
By Patty Carroll
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise In the latest narratives, “Domestic Demise,” the woman becomes the victim of domestic disasters. Her activities, obsessions and objects are overwhel...
Archival Pigment
Rogue Gallery
By Patty Carroll
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise In the latest narratives, “Domestic Demise,” the woman becomes the victim of domestic disasters. Her activities, obsessions and objects are overwhel...
Archival Pigment
$425
H 11 in W 16 in D 0.1 in
'Silver basket, White Tulips' Limited Edition Photograph. Minimal Still Life
By Sophia Milligan
Located in Penzance, GB
'Silver basket 1761, White Tulips, Blue Hyacinths' Limited edition (1 of 25) archival black and white photograph. Unframed. _________________ Sophia's po...
Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Archival Pigment
Caught Fish by Hans Withoos
By Hans Withoos
Located in New York City, NY
Fine art inkjet print on special paper rag Ask us for framing options Hans Withoos career spans more than twenty years worldwide. After graduating from the Art Academy. He specializ...
Plexiglass, Color, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment
Honesty - #2 of 5
By Carsten Witte
Located in Aramits, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Printed on archival fine art paper and signed, dated and numbered by the artist. Edition #2 of 5. About the artist: "I always felt that plants have a secret life. First, you don't ...
Archival Pigment
$1,229
H 60 in W 40 in D 0.1 in
'Tulip Awakening' Large Scale Photograph bold flower pastel red orange white
By Sophia Milligan
Located in Penzance, GB
'Tulip, Awakening' 60 x 40" edition Limited edition archival photograph, hand signed and numbered. Unframed _________________ Gauzy afternoon light, the tulips are stretching softly,...
Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Giclée, Archival Pigment
$1,900
H 36 in W 24 in
Stepping Stones, NYC (Limited Edition of 25), 24" x 36" - Street Photography
By Viet Chu
Located in New York, NY
New York City based wildlife and street photographer Viet Chu, shot this black and white image of people walking on century old cobblestone in New York City. With monochrome color he...
Archival Pigment
$1,200
H 19 in W 15 in
Two Unopened Wildflowers Tall Coil Sculpey Symmetrical Reflection
By James Pitts
Located in Sante Fe, NM
The past year afforded more time than normal for stillness and observation. I am thrilled to be alive and sentient. I love making things, whether it be building a guitar, cooking a m...
Archival Pigment
Campanula in Twisty Sculpey Vertical Facing Right
By James Pitts
Located in Sante Fe, NM
The past year afforded more time than normal for stillness and observation. I am thrilled to be alive and sentient. I love making things, whether it be building a guitar, cooking a m...
Archival Pigment
Records
By Patty Carroll
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise In the latest narratives, “Domestic Demise,” the woman becomes the victim of domestic disasters. Her activities, obsessions and objects are overwhel...
Archival Pigment
Red Bed
By Patty Carroll
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise In the latest narratives, “Domestic Demise,” the woman becomes the victim of domestic disasters. Her activities, obsessions and objects are overwhel...
Archival Pigment
Laundered
By Patty Carroll
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Anonymous Women: Domestic Demise In the latest narratives, “Domestic Demise,” the woman becomes the victim of domestic disasters. Her activities, obsessions and objects are overwhel...
Archival Pigment
Six Strawberries
By Zoë Zimmerman
Located in Sante Fe, NM
"Covid Vanitas: The Pandemic Still Lifes" On the first day of quarantine I began photographing the people-less quiet of a home and studio in isolation. The still lifes are a visual ...
Archival Pigment
Black boy on a table
By Hans Withoos
Located in New York City, NY
Fine art inkjet print on special paper rag Ask us for framing options Hans Withoos career spans more than twenty years worldwide. After graduating from the Art Academy. He specializ...
Plexiglass, Color, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment