WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Sean Scully

Sean Scully

Artist

WA-00000123

PaintingMinimalismAbstract Expressionism

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

105

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

MoMA

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Lisson Street: Sean Scully – The Nature of Art

Lisson Gallery

Field Verification (5 fields)

0 cross-verified · 5 single-source

BiographyWikidata· 70%
Birth yearWikidata· 70%
LocationWikidata· 70%
NationalityWikidata· 70%
Profile imageWikidata· 70%

Source Registry (6)

Christies-Artsyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/sean-scully
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Sothebyshttps://www.sothebys.com/en/artists/sean-scully
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Thaddaeus-Ropachttps://ropac.net/artists
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Lisson-Galleryhttps://www.lissongallery.com/artists
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/5305
Tier 1 · Institutional92%
Wikidata Patch
Tier 1 · Institutional40%

About

Why this artist matters now

Sean Scully is an Irish-born painter working in abstraction, known for large-scale compositions of stacked and interlocking stripes and geometric forms rendered in oil and acrylic. His work operates between formalist rigor and emotional warmth, treating color and line as vehicles for contemplative experience rather than decoration.

Source: Christies Artsy · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Minimalism

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Tate

Canonical record

Artworks (71)

WattsOS

Cut Ground

2006 · Oil on canvas

96 x 144 in. (243.8 x 365.8 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Aran, from Walls of Aran

2005 · gelatin silver print

Image: 32.6 x 48.3 cm (12 13/16 x 19 in.); Paper: 16 x 20 cm (6 5/16 x 7 7/8 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

WattsOS

Wall of Light Rose

2003 · oil on linen

Overall: 213.4 x 243.4 x 6.3 cm (84 x 95 13/16 x 2 1/2 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Big Grey Robe

2002 · Oil on canvas

7' 6 1/8" x 6' (228.9 x 182.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

WattsOS

Veil

2001 · Etching and aquatint

Sheet: 19 7/16 × 14 15/16 in. (49.4 × 38 cm) Plate: 6 7/8 × 8 13/16 in. (17.4 × 22.4 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Wall of Light White

1998 · Oil on two joined canvases

Diptych (overall): 96 x 108 in. (243.8 x 274.3 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

WattsOS

Mirror Smoke

1998 · Color aquatint

23 × 18 in. (58.4 × 45.7 cm) Plate: 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Untitled from Seven Mirrors

1997 · One from a portfolio of seven aquatints

plate: 9 x 8" (22.9 x 20.3 cm); sheet: 23 x 19" (58.4 x 48.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled from Seven Mirrors

1997 · One from a portfolio of seven aquatints

plate: 9 x 8" (22.9 x 20.3 cm); sheet: 23 x 19" (58.4 x 48.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled from Seven Mirrors

1997 · One from a portfolio of seven aquatints

plate: 9 x 8" (22.9 x 20.3 cm); sheet: 23 x 19" (58.4 x 48.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled from Seven Mirrors

1997 · One from a portfolio of seven aquatints

plate: 9 x 8" (22.9 x 20.3 cm); sheet: 23 x 19" (58.4 x 48.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled from Seven Mirrors

1997 · One from a portfolio of seven aquatints

plate: 9 x 8" (22.9 x 20.3 cm); sheet: 23 x 19" (58.4 x 48.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled from Seven Mirrors

1997 · One from a portfolio of seven aquatints

plate: 9 x 8" (22.9 x 20.3 cm); sheet: 23 x 19" (58.4 x 48.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Untitled from Seven Mirrors

1997 · One from a portfolio of seven aquatints

plate: 9 x 8" (22.9 x 20.3 cm); sheet: 23 x 19" (58.4 x 48.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Seven Mirrors

1997 · Portfolio of seven aquatints

plate (each): 9 x 7" (22.9 x 17.8 cm); sheet (each): 23 x 19" (58.4 x 48.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

[no title]

1996 · Aquatint on paper

image: 88 x 126 mm

Tate

[no title]

1996 · Aquatint on paper

image: 88 x 126 mm

Tate

[no title]

1996 · Aquatint on paper

image: 88 x 126 mm

Tate

[no title]

1996 · Aquatint on paper

image: 88 x 126 mm

Tate

[no title]

1996 · Aquatint on paper

image: 88 x 126 mm

Tate

This This

1996 · Aquatint on paper

image: 90 x 128 mm

Tate

1992 · Aquatint on paper

image: 116 x 174 mm

Tate

Yellow Light

1992 · Woodblock on paper

image: 275 x 260 mm

Tate

1992 · Aquatint on paper

image: 123 x 178 mm

Tate

View all 71 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

71 published of 97 catalogued · 62 with image

Tate
30 published30 img
MoMA
26 publishedof 52 catalogued31 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
7 published
The Met
7 published
Art Institute Chicago
1 published1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 10)

10 entries · 1 sources

[no title]
1996 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
#7
1992 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Tonio
1984 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
[no title]
1996 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Union
1984 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Square Light 2
1988 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
This This
1996 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
#6
1992 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
#2
1992 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Aran, from Walls of Aran
2005 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy

Wikipedia

Relationships

Peers & Context3

Brice MardensimilarAgnes MartinsimilarMark Rothkosimilar

Movements2

Minimalism Abstract Expressionism

Collections6

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Tate Christie's Lisson Gallery

Institutional

Representation & Collections

Gallery

Lisson Gallery

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Tate

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

Auction house

Christie's

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Exhibition Lisson Street: Sean Scully – The Nature of Art Lisson Gallery

2026

Solo Exhibition Lisson Street: Sean Scully – The Nature of Art

Exhibition Lisson Street: Sean Scully – The Nature of Art Lisson Gallery