4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2017.

Fire Bridge

Artist Robert Indiana (American, 1928 - 2018)

Date1964-65

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm)

ClassificationsModern art

Credit LineGift of Jean Outland Chrysler

Object number75.103

Terms

Abstract
Bridge
Brooklyn Bridge
Black
Yellow
Red
Blue
Pop art
New York

Collections

Modern and Contemporary

On View

On view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting; it is a square canvas tilted so that the top, bottom and sides each is a point of the corners. Within the "diamond" canvas, Indiana drew a yellow-bordered circle. Below the circle in stenciled letters are the words "Fire Bridge." Within the circle, he depicts a symetrically balanced bridge with two arches. This painting is in reference to the Brooklyn Bridge, New York; it features one of the bridge's gothic towers in black, and the cables in red and yellow, set against a dark blue sky.

Label TextRobert Indiana American, b. 1928 Fire Bridge, 1964–65 Oil on canvas Robert Indiana’s work recalls a barge fire he saw outside his window on the East River. The artist combined the vivid spectacle with well-known depictions of the Brooklyn Bridge by the artist Joseph Stella. Can you pick out the bridge’s gothic archways and suspended cables? While the sweeping lines and dynamic blocks of color refer both to dramatic real-life events and to earlier artworks, Indiana’s flat, mechanical technique also suggests the color reproductions found in art books and advertising logos. As such, the work deliberately mixes the worlds of art, commerce, and daily experience. Gift of Jean Outland Chrysler 75.103