The Stations of the Cross is a series of fifteen abstract expressionist paintings created between 1958 and 1966 by Barnett Newman, often considered to be his greatest work.
Unlike most depictions of the Stations of the Cross, Newman did not intend for this to be a narrative journey of Jesus's suffering.
[2] The secular, Jewish Newman used this central theme of Christian theology to probe the human condition rather than towards its historical purpose of devotion or worship.
[4] The painting series was unveiled at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1966, in an exhibition titled The Stations of the Cross: Lema Sabachthani.
[5][6][7] The National Gallery of Art bought the paintings in 1987 from Newman's widow for an estimated $5 to $7 million, through a donation from Robert and Jane Meyerhoff.