Paint + Canvas = Masterpiece!

Yesterday ("Black Friday"), we visited the Art Institute Of Chicago as a family.  I wish you could have been there.  I may have been giggling from sheer joy...

I have been to many Art Museums, but there is something about seeing an original; a piece of history, a view into the creator's mind, something that has had an impact on the world. I finally got to see a Jackson Polluck in person!  There is something about the colors, the placement, the texture of the paint, that makes this piece brilliant.  You may not understand what the big deal is, "I could splatter paint, too...", but seeing it in person was pretty incredible.  I get it now!

So while I was ogling over Jackson Pollock and other Modernists, I made a new friend.  Tim is from Ottawa, and after teasing me for being so animated about everything and making my brother take my picture, we bonded over a piece by Barnett Newman.  He told me about a piece recently acquired by the National Gallery of Canada called "Voice of Fire".  It is a massive column of red and blue.  It actually pays tribute to the burning bush in Exodus.  Tim swore that as he stared at it long enough, the blue and red blended together to create flames.
P.S.  Tim commentated that with his red face and my gray hat, we matched this piece perfectly.  :)
P.P.S.  Bonus points to anyone who can name the artist and subject of the following painting.