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acrylic prints charles demuth acrylic prints abstract acrylic prints gold acrylic prints gold leaf acrylic prints ink acrylic prints metal acrylic prints paper acrylic prints united states acrylic prints williams acrylic prints 1920s acrylic prints 20th century acrylic prints american acrylic prints american artist acrylic prints artist acrylic prints artists acrylic prints

paintings charles demuth paintings abstract paintings gold paintings gold leaf paintings ink paintings metal paintings paper paintings united states paintings williams paintings 1920s paintings 20th century paintings american paintings american artist paintings artist paintings artists paintings

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I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold. Artist: Charles Demuth (American, Lancaster, Pennsylvania 1883-1935 Lancaster, Pennsylvania). Dimensions: 35 1/2 x 30 in. (90.2 x 76.2 cm). Date: 1928.
Demuth completed eight abstract portraits between 1924 and 1929 as tributes to modern American artists, writers, and performers. Though not a physical likeness, Demuth created this portrait of his friend, the poet and physician William Carlos Williams, using imagery from Williams's poem "The Great Figure," which evokes the sights and sounds of a fire engine speeding down the street. The intersecting lines, repeated "5," round forms of the numbers, lights, street lamp, and blaring sirens of the red fire engine together infuse the painting with a vibrant, urban energy. Demuth derived the title from the poem, which reads:
Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
on a red
firetruck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling...