Rosenquist’s experience as a billboard painter contributed to a unique vision; his imagery shifts from telescopic to microscopic. Rosenquist bears witness to this country’s triumphs and defeats, its explorations of outer space, and its inquiry into inner truths. Every four years since 1964, the artist has created a “Presidential Election” painting, a “reality check” on the viability and survival of the American Dream. Against a background of trade wars and star wars, “Masquerade” sets into perspective man’s proclivity for destruction—the Stealth bomber—and nature’s wondrous capacity for creation—the butterfly emerging from the caterpillar.
Details
Artist | James Rosenquist, American, 1933 - 2017 |
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Title |
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Date | 1992 |
Medium | oil and mixed media on canvas |
Dimensions | Overall: 90 inches × 29 feet 2 inches (228.6 cm × 8 m 89 cm) |
Credit Line | Founders Society Purchase, gift of Mrs. George Kamperman by exchange |
Accession Number | 1993.62 |
Department | Contemporary Art after 1950 |
Not On View |
Signed, Marks, Inscriptions
Signed | Signed, back of panels: James Rosenquist |
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Provenance
the artist;
(Castelli Gallery, New York, New York, USA);
1993-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
(Castelli Gallery, New York, New York, USA);
1993-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
Published References
James Rosenquist. Exh. cat., Castelli Gallery. New York, 1993, pp. 16-17.
Van der Marck, Jan. "The Detroit Institute of Arts." In James Rosenquist: The Big Paintings. New York, 1994, n.p.
Van der Marck, Jan. "The Detroit Institute of Arts." In James Rosenquist: The Big Paintings. New York, 1994, n.p.