Untitled, 1939

This oval still life may be the last painting Ray made at the Hofmann School of Fine Arts, which had moved to a permanent location at 52 West 8th Street the previous year. At this new location, Hofmann’s influence as a teacher grew, especially for painters who would come to be called the Abstract Expressionists. In the spring of 1939, Ray studied alongside artists who are now well-known, including Lee Krasner, Perle Fine, and Fritz Bultman. Like in other works from this period, Ray’s forms appear derived from nature, yet it is difficult to identify specific objects, so that the composition is largely abstract. The oval shape is perhaps a reference to collage works by Pablo Picasso.