hard-edge painting

noun

A style of painting having abrupt transitions between areas of (often plain) color.

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Meanings

nounhard-edge painting (countable and uncountable, plural hard-edge paintings)

plural hard-edge paintings

  1. uncountableartA style of painting having abrupt transitions between areas of (often plain) color.
  2. countableartAn individual painting in this style.

Origin

Coined by curator and art critic Jules Langsner, along with Peter Selz, in 1959, to describe the work of certain Californian painters.

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Cite this entry
APA

hard-edge painting. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard-edge%20painting

MLA

“hard-edge painting.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard-edge%20painting. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hard-edge painting,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard-edge%20painting.

Source: hard-edge painting on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.