Spitfire

Object Details

Artist

Audrey Flack

Physical Description

Model airplanes aranged showing outside packaging of boxes and reflections. The title "Spitfire' is seen as the title of one of the boxes. Model paints and a strand of pearls appear in the foreground. The work is painted in the photorealist style.

Summary

Audrey Flack, though trained in Abstract Expressionism, is primarily known for her photorealist works -- or, as she refers to them, “superrealist”. In these paintings, In the 1980s, Flack paints an assortment of objects in a space approximately four inches deep. The objects, often toys, evoke nostalgia and explore the purpose of material objects in creating a personal or cultural identity. Flack moved from painting to sculpture, particularly in the form of public commissions. She sculpts idealized female forms, often drawn from history, to be archetypes of abstract concepts such as power, energy, or a cultural history. Flack’s works, whether painting or sculpture, often have feminist undertones. In Spitfire, Flack paints a strew of toy planes and magazines, regarded by society as “boy” toys. Amidst these toys Flack has included a string of pearls which, alongside an array of model paints, hint at the presence of the (woman) artist.

- C Rasmussen 9/19

Credit Line

The Stuart M. Speiser Photorealist Collection. Gift of Stuart M. Speiser.

1973

Inventory Number

A19790054000

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

ART-Paintings

Medium

Painting, acrylic, oil, glazes on canvas

Dimensions

2-D - In Frame (H x W x D): 186.2 x 255.3 x 10.2cm (73 5/16 in. x 100 1/2 in. x 4 in.)

Country of Origin

United States of America

See more items in

National Air and Space Museum Collection

National Air and Space Museum

Record ID

nasm_A19790054000

Metadata Usage (text)

Not determined

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/nv9d8f0aa5a-5a48-4c2d-b149-926742029324