A faint pencil outline of a head. The center features a diffused patch of red pigment containing a dark, jagged diagonal mark. A small grey smudge sits below the red.

Contented Man

Artist Hiram Williams (American, 1917 - 2003)

Date1983

MediumMixed media on paper

Dimensions29 x 23 in. (73.7 x 58.4 cm)
frame: 41 1/8 x 33 1/8 in. (104.5 x 84.1 cm)

ClassificationsDrawings

Credit LineGift of Hiram and Avonell Williams

Object number2002.7.6

Collections

CONTEMPORARY

Visual DescriptionA faint pencil outline of a head. The center features a diffused patch of red pigment containing a dark, jagged diagonal mark. A small grey smudge sits below the red.

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A drawing featuring a drawn upper border enclosing a smudged grey wash with thin diagonal lines. Below this is a thick, wavy reddish-brown band covered in short dark marks, with two vertical streaks extending into the blank white lower section.

Where Only Man is Vile

Hiram Williams

1992

Abstract mixed-media drawing on off-white paper featuring a central area of pale orange and pink wash. Surrounding this are faint graphite lines, scribbles, and smudges in grey and black.

Chorus Line Skinned

Hiram Williams

1986

Sketchy portrait drawing of a man with wild, thin grey hair and a long beard. The face appears weathered, rendered in muted greys, pinks, and blues. He wears a simple collared shirt outlined in pencil.

Lennie as a Sceptic

Hiram Williams

1980

An abstract painting on paper featuring muted earthy pink and brown washes, bisected by a faint horizontal line. A dark, blurred triangular shape occupies the lower center, pointing upwards toward the dividing line.

Beach Road (Audience Goes to Beach)

Hiram Williams

1985

A drawing featuring a sloping, pale greenish-tan lower section beneath a central, shaded blue-grey rectangle. Thin, erratic dark lines stretch vertically and diagonally across the composition, overlapping both the pale and blue-grey areas.

Mysterious Events in the Great Smokies

Hiram Williams

1992

A drawing with a textured, dark brownish-grey undulating mound across the lower half, featuring a U-shaped dip in the center. Thin, erratic dark lines sprout upward from the mound into a smudged, off-white upper section.

Mystical Events in the Muncy Hills

Hiram Williams

1992

Abstract drawing on tan paper. The top half features a dense cluster of chaotic, swirling brushstrokes in ochre, brown, and grey. Below this mass, faint pencil lines outline a simple, curved shape resembling a vase.

Snooty Bouquet

Hiram Williams

1986

A tall, rectangular yellow painting featuring a dark, drippy black mass and thin, dark vertical lines, faint scribbles, and scattered splatters forming the outline of an alligator in water.

Swimming Gator

Hiram Williams

1993

A drawing of a shaded, textured mound occupying the lower half. Several thin, sweeping upward-pointing arrows rise from the mound. An additional arrow points horizontally across the left side of the mound.

North Mountain and Religious Impulses

Hiram Williams

1991

A drawing featuring an earthy reddish-brown wash overlaid with thin, erratic, grass-like lines at the lower left. Three thick, textured white vertical strips span the composition.

Mountain Ranges and Beech (Audience Destroys its Environment)

Hiram Williams

1992

Painting of an outline of face with white irregular brushstrokes at center. The background is comprised of loose brushstrokes in shades of green.

Curious Man

Hiram Williams

1965

Abstract artwork featuring a central, textured, off-white form resembling a distorted human form. Above it lies a thick band of orange and dark gray. Faint blue marks appear below the main form on a white background.

Stretched Man with Orange

Hiram Williams

1982