1. West Coast Revolution

While teaching at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco from 1946–50, Clyfford Still developed a revolutionary abstract style that had a dramatic impact on the post-World War II West Coast art scene. Select your favorite five paintings from this time period from the seventeen included below to hang together (scroll all the way down to see the options). Tell us why you chose these paintings when you confirm your votes.
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Abstract vertical black painting with mostly black and gray paint with hints of red, white, and yellow

Clyfford Still, PH-310, 1949.
Oil on canvas, 59 5/8 x 49 3/4 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-310

Closeup of an abstract painting by Clyfford Still with reddish brown paint and splashes of orange, gold, and black

Clyfford Still, PH-339, 1948.
Oil on canvas, 50 3/8 x 45 3/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-339

Abstract painting with black, dark gray, and small sections of yellow and light gray

Clyfford Still, PH-166, 1948.
Oil on canvas, 59 1/2 x 45 1/2 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY
(Never been shown)

PH-166

Abstract oil painting with background gray, a dark black figure, white splotches on both sides, and a brown vertical figure on the right side

Clyfford Still, PH-309, 1948–49.
Oil on canvas, 53 5/8 x 45 1/4 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-309

Abstract painting with brown, tan, white, yellow, and black splotches and squiggles

Clyfford Still, PH-83, 1946.
Oil on canvas, 46 x 40 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-83

Abstract oil painting with a large background section in red, a yellow figure in the foreground, tan along the bottom, brown and black along the side, and white splotches toward the top

Clyfford Still, PH-213, 1947.
Oil on canvas, 45 x 39 5/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-213

Abstract oil painting with mostly brown and sections of gray, black, gold, and hints of white and red

Clyfford Still, PH-1103, 1946.
Oil on canvas, 90 7/8 x 69 1/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-1103

Vertical abstract painting with red, black, and some yellow and orange

Clyfford Still, PH-200, 1948.
Oil on canvas, 71 1/4 x 45 5/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-200

Abstract vertical painting with large sections of swirling yellow, and smaller sections of black, tan, and red

Clyfford Still, PH-119, 1948.
Oil on canvas, 67 5/8 x 45 3/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-119

Vertical abstract painting with black background and long thin figures in a lighter black or brown moving up, with small splotches of yellow and white

Clyfford Still, PH-214, 1949.
Oil on canvas, 64 x 47 3/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-214

Vertical abstract painting with three sections of bare canvas and mostly black paint, with some gray, blue, red, and yellow

Clyfford Still, PH-220, 1947.
Oil on canvas, 62 3/8 x 41 1/4 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-220

Vertical abstract painting with some bare canvas showing on the right side, and abstracted splotches of paint in brown, gold, gray, white, and black and a vertical red line moving upwards

Clyfford Still, PH-212, 1947.
Oil on canvas, 56 1/8 x 41 1/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-212

Vertical abstract painting with bare canvas and a large black figure with some highlights of red, orange, yellow, and blue

Clyfford Still, PH-124, 1947.
Oil on canvas, 68 1/8 x 39 3/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY
(Never been shown)

PH-124

Vertical abstract painting with a lot of bare canvas and a gold and brown painted area on one side and a black painted area on the other, with a red line down the center and white, highlights behind it

Clyfford Still, PH-17, 1949.
Oil on canvas, 92 5/8 x 69 1/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-17

A mostly black painting, with some different tones of black paint and a small section of white at the bottom

Clyfford Still, PH-1106, 1950.
Oil on canvas, 92 3/4 x 108 7/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-1106

Horizontal abstract painting with much of the left side in black with a white line coming down from the top in the middle of the black and the right third of the painting is a deep red

Clyfford Still, PH-1105, 1950.
Oil on canvas, 105 x 117 3/8 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY

PH-1105

Vertical abstract painting that is mostly black with a brown section on one side with orange and red on either side of the brown and a thin white line going up in the section with the black paint

Clyfford Still, PH-26, 1951.
Oil on canvas, 91 x 70 1/2 in.
Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, CO.
© City and County of Denver / ARS, NY