The present work from Vivian Springford's Expansionist Series conveys a saturated aura, reminiscent to the great expanse of the cosmos. In a 1976 newsletter from the Women in the Arts Foundation, Springford states that her paintings “attempt to identify with the universal whole… I want to find my own small plot or pattern of energy that will express the inner me in terms of rhythmic movement and color. The expansive center of the universe, of the stars, and of nature is my constant challenge in abstract terms.”

Vivian Springford, born in 1914, was an Abstract Expressionist artist known early in her career for her Black Paintings of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, educated at the Spence School in New York City, then studied at the Art Students League. Originally a portrait artist, she illustrated Albert Carr's 1938 book Juggernaut with portraits of 20 political dictators from the Napoleonic era to the early 20th century. Fellow painter Walasse Ting introduced the artist to Chinese culture, in which calligraphy, Taoism, and Confucianism would heavily inspire her. She was championed by writers Howard DeVree and Harold Rosenberg, who helped Springford open her first show in 1960 at Great Jones Gallery. 1974 brought her actively into Women in the Arts (WIA), the group that had staged famous protests at the Whitney and Museum of Modern Art of her gender's underrepresentation.

Recently acquired by the Guggenheim Museum, Springford's work is now earning the international recognition unquestionably deserved. Springford's paintings have been exhibited with Gary Snyder Fine Art, New York and Almine Rech Gallery. Her work has been featured internationally at Song Art Museum, Beijing, Fondation Vincent Van Gogh, and most recently included in Action, Gesture, Paint: Women Artists and Global Abstraction 1940 – 1970 at Whitechapel Gallery, London. The artist passed away in 2003 and her estate is represented by Almine Rech Gallery.