MASS MoCA Building 6 Commission, Column Study, 2017
Watercolor and graphite on paper
29.75 × 41.25 inches

Barbara Prey’s Column Study is a detailed reference drawing for her massive, 8’ × 15’ watercolor now on view at MASS MoCA. “Prey’s painting, the result of a two-year endeavor beginning in 2015, is also notable for a variety of reasons beyond offering a historical slice of an iconic building. For starters, Building 6 Portrait: Interior is quite literally the largest-known watercolor painting ever created in terms of total square footage. Its sheer size is more than just visual grandeur; it’s also an incredibly technically challenging feat to accomplish, considering how watercolor dries much quicker than other forms of painting, and how mistakes are near-impossible to cover up” (VICE Creators).

Barbara Prey earned a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a master’s degree from Harvard University, subsequently receiving a Fulbright Scholarship in Baroque art and architecture. Prey’s paintings are in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the New-York Historical Society, Kennedy Space Center, the White House permanent collection, the private collections of Orlando Bloom and Tom Hanks, and in over one hundred American embassies and consulates worldwide. She has studios in New York, Massachusetts, and Maine.

Courtesy of the artist
Estimated value: $25,000

The November 7 live auction will be conducted by Eric Widing, Deputy Chairman, Christie’s Americas. All net proceeds from the auction support MASS MoCA. To place an absentee bid, fill out this form, and email it to Emily Daunis at edaunis@massmoca.org by 4pm on November 7.