LEE MULLICAN (American 1919-1998) A PAINTING, "Untitled (from Spirit Head Series)," 1984, oil on canvas, verso signed, dated, and placed, "Lee Mullican 1984 Taos." 60" x 40" Note: Influential West Coast artist and teacher, Lee Mullican found early recognition for his membership in the San Francisco-based "Dynaton" group in the early 1950s that incorporated abstract expressionist and surrealist concepts with transcendental philosophies. Painted while at his Taos, New Mexico studio, the present painting is an important work from his Spirit Head series of the 1980s that further explored the artist's interest in Native American symbolism and mysticism intertwined with modern abstraction. Mullican's works are in the permanent collections of many important institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Provenance: Private Collection, Houston, Texas