Butte by Norman Bluhm (1967)

A mesa juts from the canvas. Norman Bluhm’s *Butte* distills the American West into raw geometry and light. Slabs of cadmium red and burnt sienna stack like sedimentary layers, their edges softened by scumbled ochre. A single vertical stroke of cobalt blue cuts through the center, anchoring the composition. The paint is thick in places, thin in others, revealing the brush’s restless path. Hang it where afternoon sun can graze the reds—above a low credenza or beside a tall window frame.