Study for 'Great American Nude #59'
Artist/Culture
Tom Wesselmann
(American, 1931–2004)
Date1965
MediumGraphite on white wove paper
Dimensions31.5 x 28.8 cm (sheet)
ClassificationsDrawings
Credit LineStoddard Acquisition Fund
Object number1996.38
Label TextWesselmann began drawing cartoons while serving in the Army during the Korean War. In art school during the mid-1950s he painted mundane, everyday objects in a style taken from advertising. Other young artists experimented independently with imagery from comic books and billboard typography to comment on American culture. Collectively their style came to be known as Pop Art. This is a sketch for one of Wesselmann’s Great American Nude paintings, which place attractive models amidst patriotic symbols.ProvenanceSidney Janis Gallery, New York; Galerie Gian Enzo Sperone, Turin; Mario Ravignon Gallery, New York; Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York; purchased from G. W. Einstein Co., New YorkOn View
Not on view
John Steuart Curry
mid-20th century
