Tori with Blue Dot
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Five forms are stacked vertically on a white-cream ground: two large black crescent or bowl shapes (one at top, one at bottom), a smaller black tapered stroke between them, and — providing the only color — a blue-violet circle and a brown horseshoe or arch form at center. The shapes are flat and smooth, with clean edges and minimal texture. The composition is symmetrical and totemic, with the forms balanced on a central axis. "Tori" references the torii — the traditional Japanese gate found at the entrance to Shinto shrines. Baumeister used the torii form as a recurring motif in his late work, abstracting its architecture into stacked, balanced compositions. Oil on board or canvas, undated but likely from the late 1940s or early 1950s.