Object Details
Artist
Audrey Flack, born New York City 1931-died Southampton, NY 2024
Gallery Label
What do the objects in this painting symbolize? Queen echoes a genre of Renaissance still-life paintings known as "vanitas" that serve as reminders of the inevitability of change and death. In such a work, a pocket watch represents the unrelenting march of time, and a dewy flower is symbolic of youthful beauty that will one day wither.
Audrey Flack has said that she made this painting "for all women, particularly women gamblers"--a reference to her mother, whose portrait appears, alongside the artist's, in the open locket just below the queen of hearts playing card. To the left, Flack depicts another queen--a chess piece, the most powerful in the game and therefore an emblem of female power and importance.
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Louis K. and Susan P. Meisel
Date
1976
Object number
2022.11.5
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Painting
Medium
acrylic on canvas
Dimensions
80 × 80 in. (203.2 × 203.2 cm)
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 3rd Floor, North Wing
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Topic
Still life\flower
Still life\fruit
Dress\accessory\jewelry
Still life\toy\cards
Dress\accessory\makeup
Link to Original Record
Record ID
saam_2022.11.5