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July 13–14, 1959, and July 13–14, 1960

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July 13–14, 1959, and July 13–14, 1960 - - Journals - Robert Indiana

Journal page for July 13–14, 1959, and July 13–14, 1960 with sketches of three paintings: The Bride, an early state of In Praise of Dead Generals, an untitled white panel with two cobalt blue circles, and Fun.

Courtesy Star of Hope Foundation, Vinalhaven, Maine

Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

The upper half of this journal page includes entries for July 13, 1959, and July 13, 1960. In his entry for July 13, 1959, Indiana mentions that he sent photographs of his work via Western Union to the gallery French & Co., and felt troubled because they refused to give him a receipt. After he had breakfast with J. (his partner, fashion designer John Kloss), then visited the Guggenheim construction site and the Museum of Modern Art on his own. 

In his entry for July 13, 1960, Indiana describes cleaning his loft, rearranging the desk area in particular, mostly to accommodate his growing collection of plants. The entry includes a sketch of a work titled Bride (later retitled In Praise of Dead Generals), with notes indicating the painting's colors (lamp/Mars [blacks]), medium (oil on canvas), and dimensions (60 x 48 inches). Indiana also records that John F. Kennedy had been declared the Democratic nominee, defeating Adlai Stevenson, and that he watched the brief acceptance speech. 

The bottom half of the page consists of entries for July 14, 1959, and July 14, 1960. His entry for July 14, 1959, includes a sketch of an untitled 8 x 4 foot Homasote panel of two large spheres, cobalt on white. He also mentions a trip to Chinatown to see Stanley Kubrick's film Paths of Glory, featuring Kirk Douglas.

In his entry for July 14, 1960, Indiana records that it was a rainy day, good for painting. He documents turning Checquers [sic] to a black painting with an orange stripe, and adding black to the side panels of Image of Man (later retitled The Triumph of Tira). The entry also includes a sketch of a new small black painting, Fun, with notes on color (Mars/lamp), medium (oil on canvas), and dimensions (10 x 8 inches). A note by the painting, which the artist added at a later date, indicates that it went to the art critic Gene Swenson.

Indiana also mentions staying up late over coffee at a friend's that evening and receiving the news that there would be a second New Media—New Forms show at the Martha Jackson Gallery.