Newstead Abbey

Stella's work is assembled into distinct series which can be named for a group's colour, shape, or date around which they were created. Newstead Abbey comes from the series Aluminium Paintings, a collection of twelve works all executed in grey aluminium paint. As an example of Stella's shaped canvases, Newstead Abbey's large vertical form has smaller rectangular notches in the painting. From the top and bottom, two long pieces are missing and there are two smaller cut outs on either side. By altering the painting in this way Stella established that the painting was an object. There is strict logic used in the designing of this piece. In this symmetrical work, painted lines of identical width echo the canvases' contour. The size of these lines is determined by the stretcher bars, thus a self-generating pattern. Tension is created through the advanced planning and precise execution in this shaped canvas. Frank Stella's methodical application of paint was carried out shortly after Abstract Expressionists' gesture painting. His canvases greatly influenced Minimalism.