This major retrospective exhibition, organized by Albright-Knox Director Robert T. Buck, Jr., and Assistant Curator Linda L. Cathcart, included over one hundred fifty paintings and drawings that spanned thirty years and surveyed the extraordinary achievements of this artist who has successfully explored both abstract and figurative painting. Richard Diebenkorn's work changed considerably as it evolved through a process of continuous self-criticism and awareness over the three decades represented in this exhibition.

This exhibition was organized and first held at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. It then traveled to the Cincinnati Art Museum, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Oakland Museum.