Robert Mangold
(North Tonawanda, New York, 1937 - )
Study for Stained Glass Window (Oberlin, Ohio)
1990
Marker and pastel on paper
8 1/2 x 11 in. (21.6 x 27.9 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of The Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection: Fifty Works for Fifty States, a joint initiative of the Trustees of the Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection and the National Gallery of Art, with generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts an
2009.30.21
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A 1959 graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art, Mangold has throughout his career honed an artistic vocabulary of curvilinear shapes and muted colors. The artist’s spare compositions and interest in sculpture and architecture often link him with minimalist sculpture, but his art also evokes art forms such as Ancient Greek pottery and Renaissance fresco painting. In 1982, when Oberlin College began renovating its 1908 Finney Chapel, Mangold was commissioned to design a stained glass window, which was originally planned but not realized due to lack of funding. Mangold united his signature forms and colors with a clarity of vision that brought to life the design committee’s aspirations: “It should be simple and abstract rather than religious, referential or representational. The design should lend strength, dignity and beauty….”