WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Jan Matulka

Jan Matulka

Jan Matulka

1890–1972

WA-00028403

PaintingCubismConstructivismAbstract Art

Representation

None documented

7

Institutional Exhibitions

19

Works in Collection

29

Assets Indexed

2

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ6149475 ULAN500016408

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

The Cubist Imprint

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1989

No image

Master Prints from the Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1987–1988

No image

American Prints: 1900�1960; Recent Acquisitions: Illustrated Books

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1985–1986

No image

Art of the Twenties

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1979–1980

No image

New Acquisitions: American Drawings

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1942

No image

New Horizons in American Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1936

No image

Murals by American Painters and Photographers

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1932

Field Verification (2 fields)

2 cross-verified · 0 single-source

Birth yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓
Death yearDuplicate Merge· 85%✓

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/3848
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Jan Matulka was an American painter and printmaker whose work bridged European modernism and American abstraction during the early twentieth century. Born in 1890, he developed a geometric formal language informed by Cubism and Constructivism, working across oil, watercolor, and lithography. His contributions to American modernism remain understudied relative to his influence on subsequent generations of abstract painters. He died in 1972.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Cubism

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Museum of Modern ArtNew York Art Institute of Chicago

Canonical record

Artworks (19)

Gasoline Pumps

1934 · Gouache and pencil on paper

18 x 11 3/4" (45.5 x 30.2 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Landscape with Buildings

1930 · Watercolor and black crayon on paper (recto); black crayon on paper (verso)

14 7/8 in. × 20 in. (37.8 × 50.8 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Untitled (Still Life with Lobster)

Untitled (Still Life with Lobster)

1930 · Oil, and possibly sand, on canvas

70.8 × 73.7 cm (27 7/8 × 29 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Cow's Siesta

1927 · Watercolor, opaque watercolor, and black crayon on paper (recto); brush and black ink, opaque white paint, and graphite on paper (verso)

22 × 15 in. (55.9 × 38.1 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1927 · Watercolor, brush and black ink, and black crayon on paper

20 in. × 15 1/8 in. (50.8 × 38.4 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Figure Composition - Working Men

Figure Composition - Working Men

1927 · Ink, crayon, and pencil on paper

22 x 15" (55.9 x 38.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Nude

1925 · Lithograph on cream Japanese paper

36 × 27.5 cm (14 3/16 × 10 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Cityscape

1925 · Ink on paper

10 7/8 x 8 3/8" (27.8 x 21.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Cityscape

1925 · Crayon on paper

10 7/8 x 8 3/8" (27.8 x 21.5 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1924 · Lithograph

composition 16 5/16 x 12 9/16" (41.4 x 31.9 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

1923 · watercolor, gouache and black crayon, over traces of graphite

Sheet: 37.9 x 50.3 cm (14 15/16 x 19 13/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Untitled (Still Life with Phonograph, Banjo, and Shell)

1923 · lithograph

Cleveland Museum of Art

1923 · Etching

plate 10 1/4 x 7 11/16" (26 x 19.6 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Prague

1921 · Gouache and pencil on paper

12 x 15" (30.4 x 38 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Seated Nude with Lamp

Seated Nude with Lamp

1920 · Black wax crayon, with graphite on cream wove paper

43 × 34.2 cm (16 15/16 × 13 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Hillside Village (recto); Wooded Path (verso)

1916 · watercolor on sturdy weight paper

Sheet: 38 x 50.4 cm (14 15/16 x 19 13/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Wooded Path (verso)

1900 · watercolor

Sheet: 38 x 50.4 cm (14 15/16 x 19 13/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Hillside Village (recto)

1900 · watercolor

Sheet: 38 x 50.4 cm (14 15/16 x 19 13/16 in.)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland Museum of Art

View all 19 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

19 published of 26 catalogued · 15 with image

MoMA
7 publishedof 14 catalogued12 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
6 published
The Met
3 published
Art Institute Chicago
3 published3 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 6)

6 entries · 1 sources

Hillside Village (recto); Wooded Path (verso)
1916 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Untitled (Still Life with Phonograph, Banjo, and Shell)
1923 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Park
— · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Hillside Village (recto)
1900 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Hills
1923 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Wooded Path (verso)
1900 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Artsy artist portrait

Artsy

Untitled (Still Life with Lobster) (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Untitled (Still Life with Lobster) (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

7

Movements3

Cubism Constructivism Abstract Art

Collections4

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

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago