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ALFRED LESLIE
(American, born 1927)
Odorless, 1962
Acrylic on canvas
96 x 72 1/4"
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson for the Martha Jackson Memorial Collection 1982.3.4

Native New Yorker Alfred Leslie has established a reputation for both monumental figurative works and complex abstractions whose bold colors, heavy impasto, and aggressive approach to painting signal his alliance with Abstract Expressionists. In his abstract paintings, he typically sets off cleanly defined, striped motifs against freely painted areas. Many of these works have the appearance and even the technique of collage: ragged edges overlap taped contours; bright, glossy hues contrast with matte, drab ones; and transparent layers lie beside thick patches. Odorless, a dynamic painting characterized by a large area of splashy red paint bisected by rectangular strips of black and white, is a rare example of his early work; a studio fire in 1966 destroyed the majority of his output from the first seventeen years of his career.