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An action painting of two baseball players caught in a moment of heightened anticipation as one…
Baseball Players
An action painting of two baseball players caught in a moment of heightened anticipation as one…
An action painting of two baseball players caught in a moment of heightened anticipation as one player sprints over a base passing the catcher (29) in an all-white uniform with red socks.
Baseball Players, Elaine de Kooning, 1953, oil on canvas mounted on board, Telfair Museum of Art, Savannah, Georgia, © Elaine de Kooning Trust.

Baseball Players

Artist (American, 1918 - 1989)
Date1953
MediumOil on canvas mounted on board
DimensionsSight: 17 5/8 × 23 9/16 inches (44.8 × 59.8 cm)
Framed: 24 9/16 × 30 9/16 × 2 inches (62.4 × 77.6 × 5.1 cm)
Credit LineGallery exchange.
Object number1965.6
On View
Not on view
Copyright© Elaine de Kooning Trust. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextElaine de Kooning was an influential writer, teacher, and painter who made a big impact in the male-dominated Abstract Expressionist era. She lived and worked in New York, eventually marrying fellow artist Willem de Kooning in 1943. Highly conscious of the physicality and dynamism of the human figure, De Kooning often painted athletes from newspaper photographs in the 1950s. Baseball Players was painted in 1953, when de Kooning was invited to travel and paint the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees professional baseball teams. Her lively brushstrokes capture the players’ dramatic movements and gestures. In this work, the player is believed to be Philadelphia Phillies catcher Stan Lopata, who wore #29 for the Phillies from 1948–59.
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