Pitcher (1968)

Date:	1968
Medium:	Oil on brick underpainted with gesso
Size inches:	8 5/8 x 4 1/4 x (width?)
Size cm:	21.9 x 10.8 x ?
Signature:
Location:	Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection

Ref. Chardin, Pipes and Drinking Pitcher, c. 1737. Musee du Louvre, Paris.

Comment. George Deem's painting is distinctive for its use of an untraditional surface on which to paint a traditional still life. At first glance, Deem's decision to paint on brick rather than canvas or paper is an unusual one. While it may typify the twentieth-century artist's freedom to select unconventional materials, the use of a brick surface can be seen within the context of the centuries old tradition of frescoes, or paintings on plaster. In a classical still life tradition, the dominant image in Deem's painting is a tall white pitcher, probably a milk pitcher. Beside it is a jar with its lid off to the side. The objects sit firmly on a flat surface, the background being indicated by two irregular geometric shapes of different values. Though still life imagery often has a timeless quality, we feel activity in the artist's bold brushstrokes on the surface of the pitcher. The artist's composition also encourages a sense of movement. The large handle shows the brilliant reflection of the light source from the left and dark shadow to the right. The handle is then framed in the background by a rectangle of a middle-range value. This shifting of values moves our eye through the space, rather than allowing a single point of interest. And finally, his placement of only a portion of the jar within the composition alludes to a space outside the realm of the picture itself. (Michael Preble, Familiar Reality 1986, Artmobile exhibition catalog, Arkansas Arts Center).

The Artmobile. The Artmobile is a traveling gallery – essentially an 18-wheel tractor/trailer modified to serve as a high security, climate controlled gallery. The Arkansas Arts Center was the idea of Winthrop and Jeannette Rockefeller and began traveling in the early 1960s. The first artmobile was funded by Jeannette and Winthrop Rockefeller along with Win’s brother David Rockefeller. The gallery travels all over the state of Arkansas – to schools and community centers. An art specialist travels with the gallery and serves as tour guide and consultant for these communities. The Artmobile is part of our traveling exhibition service managed by our State Services department. (Thom Hall, Museum Registrar, Arkansas Arts Center. January 18, 2011 E-mail to Ronald Vance).

The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas

Exhibition date:	1995 - 96
Institution:	The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
Works Shown:	Pitcher (1968)

Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas

Exhibition date:	May 8 - 30, 1971
Institution:	American Federation of Arts
Works Shown:	Pitcher (1968)

Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas

Exhibition date:	February 28 - March 30, 1986
Institution:	Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas
Works Shown:	Pitcher (1968)

Arkansas Arts Center Artmobile Traveling Exhibition

Exhibition date:	September 1986 - Spring 1988
Works Shown:	Pitcher (1968)