WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Leon Golub

Leon Golub

Leon Golub

1922–2004

WA-00003851

Chicago, IL, USA

Painting

Representation

None documented

1

Institutional Exhibitions

66

Works in Collection

116

Assets Indexed

15

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ475655

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

New Humans: Memories of the Future

New Museum

2026

Field Verification (7 fields)

6 cross-verified · 1 single-source

Primary mediumWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
Birth yearWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
Death yearWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
DeceasedWikidata + Unknown· 92%✓
BiographyWikipedia + Unknown· 88%✓
LocationArtsy + Gallery· 85%✓
NationalityWikidata + Artsy+1· 92%

Source Registry (5)

Corbett-Dempseyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/leon-golub
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
Hauser-Wirthhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/leon-golub
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
David-Kordanskyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/leon-golub
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/2223
Tier 1 · Institutional92%
Paula-Cooper
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred60%

About

Why this artist matters now

Leon Golub painted large-scale figural works in acrylic that confront violence, power, and the human body with unflinching directness. Working primarily in Chicago from the 1950s onward, he developed a distinctive approach using erasure, scraping, and gestural mark-making to create surfaces that register both physicality and psychological intensity. His monumental canvases depict interrogation scenes, mercenaries, and fragmented anatomies that refuse aestheticization, embedding political urgency into the formal language of Abstract Expressionism.

Source: Corbett Dempsey · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

—

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

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

Canonical record

Artworks (66)

Condemned

2002 · Paint stick, india ink, and acrylic on white card

25.4 × 20.4 cm (10 × 8 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Why Me! from Exit 99

Why Me! from Exit 99

1999 · Screenprint from a portfolio of seven screenprints and one etching and aquatint

composition: 27 1/2 x 20 3/4" (69.8 x 52.7cm); sheet: 29 15/16 x 22 1/16" (76 x 56cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Interrogation from 10: Artist as Catalyst

Interrogation from 10: Artist as Catalyst

1992 · One from a portfolio of ten screenprints

composition (irreg.): 17 1/16 x 21 15/16" (43.3 x 55.7 cm); sheet: 25 9/16 x 26" (65 x 66 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1992 · screenprint

Sheet: 65.7 x 66 cm (25 7/8 x 26 in.); Image: 43 x 55.7 cm (16 15/16 x 21 15/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

White Squad

1987 · Lithograph on paper

image: 755 x 1060 mm

White Squad

1987 · Lithograph

composition: 29 5/8 x 40 5/8" (75.2 x 103.2 cm); sheet: 29 5/8 x 41 1/2" (75.2 x 105.4 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1987 · Color lithograph

Sheet: 29 3/4 × 41 7/8 in. (75.5 × 106.3 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Untitled from The Atelier Project

Museum of Modern Art

The Heretic's Fork

The Heretic's Fork

1985 · Color lithograph on ivory wove paper

77.6 × 58 cm (30 9/16 × 22 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Study for Fallen Fighter

Study for Fallen Fighter

1985 · Pencil and acrylic on paper

8 1/4 × 10 3/4" (21 × 27.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Riot I from the Fashion Moda Benefit Portfolio

Riot I from the Fashion Moda Benefit Portfolio

1985 · Lithograph from a portfolio of four lithographs (one with screenprint) and three screenprints

Museum of Modern Art

Merc

1984 · Lithograph

composition (irreg.): 24 5/16 × 22 5/16" (61.7 × 56.7 cm); sheet: 29 15/16 × 22 5/16" (76 × 56.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Interrogation II

Interrogation II

1981 · Acrylic on canvas

305 × 427 cm (120 × 168 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Heretic's Fork

The Heretic's Fork

1980 · Brush and lithographic tusche and lithographic crayon, with smudging, on white wove paper

76.2 × 56.5 cm (30 × 22 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Study for Vietnam I

1973 · Pencil and paint on paper

9 5/8 × 8 1/2" (24.4 × 21.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

They Will Torture You, My Friend, from Conspiracy, The Artist as Witness

They Will Torture You, My Friend, from Conspiracy, The Artist as Witness

1971 · Color screenprint on ivory wove paper

45.1 × 60.5 cm (17 13/16 × 23 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

1970 · Screenprint

irreg composition 44 1/16 x 30 15/16" (112 x 78.7 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Vietnamese Head

1970 · Acrylic on linen

24 × 18 in. (61 × 45.7 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Orator II

1967 · Color lithograph on off-white wove paper

56.5 × 76.5 cm (22 1/4 × 30 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Orator II

1967 · Color lithograph on ivory wove paper

56.5 × 76.5 cm (22 1/4 × 30 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Killed Youth from Artists and Writers Protest against the War in Vietnam

Killed Youth from Artists and Writers Protest against the War in Vietnam

1967 · Lithograph from a portfolio of nine screenprints (two with collage additions, one with die-cut, one with punched holes), six lithographs (one with embossing), and one etching

composition (irreg.): 25 5/16 × 19 7/8" (64.3 × 50.5 cm); sheet: 25 3/4 × 21 1/8" (65.4 × 53.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Gigantomachy II

1966 · Acrylic on linen

9 ft. 11 1/2 in. × 24 ft. 10 1/2 in. (303.5 × 758.2 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fighter

1965 · Lithograph on paper

image: 765 x 565 mm

Wounded Sphinx

1965 · Lithograph on paper

image: 755 x 1050 mm

View all 66 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

66 published of 105 catalogued · 93 with image

MoMA
38 publishedof 77 catalogued70 img
Art Institute Chicago
20 published20 img
Tate
3 published3 img
The Met
3 published
Cleveland Museum of Art
2 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 4)

4 entries · 1 sources

White Squad
1987 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Bonehead
1953 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Interrogation
1992 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Wounded Sphinx
1965 · Tate · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Leon Golub (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Artsy artwork: Untitled

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Interrogation

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Combat

Artsy

Artsy artwork: Untitled

Artsy

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Leon Golub (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Leon Golub (Wikipedia)

Wikipedia

Relationships

61

Peers & Context56

Salvador Dalíco-exhibited Alison Knowlesco-exhibited Jordan Wolfsonco-exhibited Varvara Stepanovaco-exhibited André Bretonco-exhibitedHeinrich Hoerleco-exhibited

Collections5

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

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Tate

In collection

New Museum

In collection

New Museum

Background

Education

University of Chicago

Visual Arts

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Visual Arts

Network

Related Artists

co exhibited with

co exhibited with

co exhibited with

Varvara Stepanova

co exhibited with

co exhibited with

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

Exhibition New Humans: Memories of the Future

Exhibition New Humans: Memories of the Future New Museum