Drawing for "Bedroom Painting #15"
Artist
Tom Wesselmann
(American, 1931-2004)
CultureAmerican
Dateca. 1968
MediumGraphite on paper
DimensionsOverall: 12 5/8 x 15 in. (32.1 x 38.1 cm)
Overall, Frame: 23 1/8 x 25 in. (58.7 x 63.5 cm)
Overall, Frame: 23 1/8 x 25 in. (58.7 x 63.5 cm)
InscribedSigned and dated lower right: Wesselmann ca 1968
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number87.508
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a pencil on paper drawing. It is a study for the painting _Bedroom Painting #15_ (see object 77.420). The drawing depicts the sole of a woman's foot in the foreground; a round pillow, an orange, a rose and a photograph are in the background.Label TextTom Wesselmann American, 1931–2004 top Drawing for Bedroom Painting #15, ca. 1968 Graphite on paper bottom Self-Portrait for Bedroom Painting #15, 1969 Graphite on paper Tom Wesselmann made these preparatory drawings for the monumental canvas nearby. By the late 1960s, Wesselmann had perfected a traditional working method that included creating numerous sketches such as this pair. In the first sketch, Wesselmann determined the painting’s overall composition, carefully arranging a pillow, orange, rose, photograph, and female foot. As the drawing indicates, he initially planned to depict the sole of the foot, but ultimately flipped the image to show the top, its glossy red nails heightening the work’s sensual allure and chromatic punch. In the second drawing, he perfected the details of the bedside photograph. The self-portrait shows him gazing raptly at the “nipple” of an orange—a tantalizing allusion to the female nude lounging nearby. Museum purchase 87.508 and 87.507, respectively ProvenanceThe artist; Chrysler Museum Purchase, 1987. Published ReferencesMartha N. Hagood and Jefferson C. Harrison, _American Art at the Chrysler Museum: Selected Paintings, Sculpture, and Drawings_ (Norfolk, Va.: Chrysler Museum of Art, 2005), 248, no. 151. ISBN: 0-940744-71-6
Benjamin Adworth Richardson
ca. 1907
