Skin, c. 1970, print 66/100, signed lower right, 26 x 21 ins.

Skin is a striking example of Golub’s compelling and powerful use of the human form.

Leon Golub was an American painter who was both horrified and inspired by the Vietnam War. Born in Chicago in 1922, Golub was active in the Vietnam-era peace movement. His paintings in the 1960s and '70s were largely commentaries on the Vietnam War. In the 1980s, Golub turned his attention to terrorism, from the subversive operations of governments to urban street violence. His reaction against human brutality led him to an expressionistic and dramatic use of the human figure in monumental and rough-hewn paintings that took inspiration from Greek tragedy and mythology. Golub was married to and collaborated with the artist Nancy Spero.

Courtesy Friend of The Dorsky