Stanton Macdonald-Wright (American, 1890-1973) Cubist Still Life, 1945 Oil on canvas 36 x 25 inches (91.4 x 63.5 cm) Signed and dated lower left: S. Macdonald-Wright / 1945 PROVENANCE: The artist; Dr. Vern Oliver Knudsen, Los Angeles, California, gift from the above, 1959-60; By descent to the present owner. Stanton Macdonald-Wright and Dr. Vern Oliver Knudsen were contemporaries at the University of California, Los Angeles, where each played a significant role in shaping the institution's intellectual and cultural identity. Macdonald-Wright taught at the Southern Branch of the University of California—which later became UCLA in the early 1920s—during the institution's formative years. Dr. Knudsen, a distinguished physicist and later Dean of Graduate Studies and Chancellor, was instrumental in advancing the University's academic and scientific stature over a sprawling forty-year period, beginning in 1922, until 1960. Although their disciplines differed, they shared an undisputed professional bond—symbolized by the present work's provenance, having been gifted by the artist to Dr. Knudsen. While Macdonald-Wright's Synchronist works were defined by pure abstraction and the orchestration of color as form, the present work, by contrast, reintroduces recognizable objects. Cubist Still Life maintains a dynamic yet fractured composition—everyday objects are animated through angular contours and saturated color, their forms interlocking within a compressed space. The result is a composition that bridges abstraction and representation, demonstrating Macdonald-Wright's continued commitment to color as a structural force while situating the work within the broader evolution of his mid-century practice. HID12401132022 © 2026 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved www.HA.com/TexasAuctioneerLicenseNotice

The artist; Dr. Vern Oliver Knudsen, Los Angeles, California, gift of the above, 1959-60; By descent to the present owner.

Condition report available upon request.
Framed Dimensions 43.125 X 32 Inches