Color field painting, which emerged in the U.S. in the 1950s, is characterized by pouring, staining, or spraying thinned paint onto raw canvas, creating vast chromatic expanses. Exemplified in the work of Helen Frankenthaler, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Larry Poons, and Frank Stella, these paintings constitute one of the crowning achievements of postwar American abstract art. Color as Field is the first major exhibition or book to examine the color field artists as a group—its sources, meaning, and impact.

Curated by Karen Wilkin, Color as Field encompasses approximately 41 large-scale canvases and presents a remarkable opportunity for viewers to fully comprehend the aims of these artists, view their finest works in close relation to each other, and experience the beauty and visual magnetism of their pictorial handling of space and color.