Papers13 ink on paper drawings2 letters1 ink on paper illustrated poem5 ink on paper postcards5 ink on paper envelopes1 ink on paper poem on Hunter student card
The year before he passed away, Ad Reinhardt was teaching at Hunter College, New York. One of his students was Stephanie Bernheim (Dezwirek), and over the course of that year, Reinhardt sent her a series of written missives and gave her a group of drawings. These letters, poems, postcards, and illustrations comprise The Met’s unique archive. Together they not only testify to Reinhardt’s wit and skill as an illustrator; they also bear witness, poignantly and beautifully, to the relationship between a teacher, who was at the very peak of his career, and his student, a young, aspiring artist. The drawings, which feature abstracted figures, most of them female, are of particular interest, reflecting Reinhardt’s serious study of art history, especially the art history of Asia and Mexico. On two sheets, Reinhardt meticulously and systematically elides the figures into and out of the letters of Bernheim’s first name. Part of the interest of these drawings lies in their emphatic difference from Reinhardt’s contemporaneous paintings: abstract monochromes with cruciform compositions whose purity, autonomy, and self-referentiality the artist vigorously defended.
Artwork Details
- Title: Papers13 ink on paper drawings2 letters1 ink on paper illustrated poem5 ink on paper postcards5 ink on paper envelopes1 ink on paper poem on Hunter student card
- Artist: Ad Reinhardt (American, Buffalo, New York 1913–1967 New York)
- Date: 1966
- Medium: Black pen and ink on 16 papers ; Black pen and ink on printed, punched paper ; Black pen and ink and relief printed black ink on 5 printed papers with traces of graphite and blue ink ; Black pen and ink, stamps, and relief printed black ink on 5 printed envelopes
- Dimensions: 16 Pen and ink drawings and letters (a-p), each: 11 in. × 8 1/2 in. (28 × 21.6 cm)
5 Postcards (q-u), each: 3 1/4 × 5 1/2 in. (8.2 × 14 cm)
2 Envelopes (v,w), each: 4 1/8 × 9 1/2 in. (10.5 × 24.1 cm)
3 Envelopes (x-z), each: 3 11/16 × 6 1/2 in. (9.3 × 16.5 cm)
1 Pen and ink poem on Hunter student card (aa): 7 3/8 × 3 1/4 in. (18.7 × 8.3 cm) - Classification: Drawings
- Credit Line: Gift of Stephanie Bernheim, 2017
- Object Number: 2017.653a–aa
- Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Ad Reinhardt
Thomas B. Hess
1975
Ad Reinhardt
Wadsworth Atheneum
1964
Ad Reinhardt
1952
Ad Reinhardt
1950
Charles Demuth
1928
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.