Bikini
Artist
Wayne Thiebaud
(American, 1920 - 2021)
Date1964
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 72 × 35 7/8 inches (182.88 × 91.12 cm)
Framed: 76 1/2 × 41 × 2 3/4 inches (194.31 × 104.14 × 6.99 cm)
Framed: 76 1/2 × 41 × 2 3/4 inches (194.31 × 104.14 × 6.99 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Sosland
Object numberF66-35
Signedl.r.: "Thiebaud 1964"
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionOn white ground, full-length frontal view of standing figure of stocky, buxom woman, long hair over shoulders, amrs hanging loose with hands resting on front of upper thighs, feet turned out and slightly spread; wears red-polka-dotted, two-piece swimsuit, yellow, outlined in blue and with thin blue straps; light gray shadow toward left behind feet.Gallery LabelWayne Thiebaud, who is best known for his still life paintings, turned to figural studies in 1963 and 1964. In Bikini, a fusion of Realist and Pop Art interests, Thiebaud treats the human body as an inanimate, static object—literally a still life.
Similar to the Lynette Yiadom-Boakye painting seen nearby, the artist provides no psychological insight or context provided in relation to the subject. The figure is depicted in a stationary pose, emotionless, and communicates no erotic overtones. The absence of props or setting for the figure further eliminates the possibility of a narrative.
Copyright© Wayne Thiebaud / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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