Charles Seliger has been associated with the abstract expressionist movement since the mid-1940s when his works were exhibited at Peggy Guggenheim's Gallery in New York. Throughout his career, his art relied heavily on chance --the automatism of the Surrealists--as a point of departure. He would then develop meticulous and intricate compositions influenced by his interest in natural sciences. The group of fourteen works on paper (2018.81 -- 2018.94) bequeathed to the Morgan by Elaine G. Weitzen, includes such imagery inspired by microscopic organic forms and environmental landscapes. The group also includes two portrait sketches of artists, one of Mark Tobey (2018.92), a close friend of Seliger's, the other of Henri Matisse (2018.81).
Typed note on verso of Weitzen's frame: "June 1956 For Elaine, This is a little traveling painting to go where you go. Bon voyage. Love, Charles & Ruth" (note: the drawing has been removed from Weitzen's frame and the note is kept in the curatorial object file.)
Signed and dated "Seliger 56" (lower left); signed and inscribed (on the back).