C. Ronald Bechtle, Untitled (Still Life), 1958–59

Bechtle began this composition with a pencil sketch, then methodically planned the painting using a limited number of colors. The flat and well-balanced components are arranged parallel to the picture plane, similar to a cubist painting. The imagery is suggestive of the machinery that the artist no doubt encountered in his work as an industrial engineer. Bechtle did not title his abstract paintings until later in his career, and even then used only numbers.