From a Window in Boston
Madeline Johnson, American, active mid - 20th century
not dated
Watercolor on paper
Sight: 17 1/4 in. (43.8 cm)
Sight: 11 1/8 in. (28.3 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Julia L. Whittier Fund
W.953.19
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Watercolor
Research Area
Watercolor
Not on view
Inscriptions
Signed, lower right, in blue ink: Madeline/Johnson
Label
The window frame divides the composition in half. The bottom is much more crowded with buildings, while the top contains only the peak of a steeple, an airplane, the string of the window shade, and the open sky. In contrast to the fixed architecture, the airplane flies towards us, connecting the viewer to the world outside.
Instead of aligning with the edge of the piece, the window frame tilts. The left side of the window frame is missing, which draws attention to the existence of the frame. The white buildings include the green of the frame along with the blue sky and the red accents of the airplane and architecture. The window frame thus acts both as an inherent part of the view and as an outside border which defines it.
From the 2023 exhibition A Space for Dialogue 113, On View: Windows in Art, curated by Leigh Smith '23, Erbe Intern
Course History
Space for Dialogue Gallery Talk: Windows in Art, Summer 2023
Exhibition History
A Space for Dialogue 113, On View: Windows in Art, Leigh Smith '23, Erbe Intern, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 1 - August 12, 2023.
Twentieth Annual Exhibition of the Boston Society of Independent Artists, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts (work purchased from this exhibition), 1953.
Provenance
Boston Society of Independent Artists; sold to present collection, 1953.
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