Photographed by Scott Wolff. Scanned from a slide. Color corrected by Pat Cagney.

Bedroom Painting #15

Artist Tom Wesselmann (American, 1931-2004)

Date1968-70

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsOverall: 84 1/4 x 119 1/4 in. (214 x 302.9 cm)

ClassificationsModern art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number77.420

Terms

Pillow
Self portrait
Tom Wesselmann
Rose
Orange
Foot
Photograph
Red
White
Blue
Yellow
Orange
Brown
Flesh
Gray
Pop art
New York

On View

On view

DescriptionThis oil on canvas painting is irregulary-shaped and combines still-life objects with a woman's foot with painted toenails. The foot lines the bottom edge of the canvas, the ball of the foot resting on a round, yellow pillow. An orange, a rose, a portrait of a lover (self-portrait of Wesselmann) is in the background. The contour of the canvas is shaped to fit the objects depicted.

Label TextTom Wesselmann American, 1931–2004 Bedroom Painting No. 15, 1968–70 Oil on canvas Mundane objects become erotic in Tom Wesselmann’s Bedroom Painting No. 15. The shiny orange and the bright yellow pillow that dominate the composition coyly resemble women’s breasts, while an extended pink foot with painted toenails suggests a lounging female nude. The rose and the lover’s photograph are romantic symbols, but they too become highly suggestive. For example, the photograph—a self-portrait—positions the artist and the viewer as voyeurs of the seductive scene. With his early interest in cartoons, Wesselmann developed a talent for simplified and colorful imagery that seamlessly blends commercial and sexual desires. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 77.420