Blue Nude Drawing
Date1999
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsCanvas: 39 1/2 × 39 1/2 inches (100.3 × 100.3 cm)
Framed: 40 1/2 × 40 1/4 × 2 inches (102.9 × 102.2 × 5.1 cm)
Credit LineGiven in loving memory of Tom Wesselmann by Dwight and Susie Emanuelson. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Dwight H. Emanuelson.
Object number2005.17.1
Copyright© 2023 Estate of Tom Wesselmann / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY.
The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextAlong with Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and other artists of their generation, Tom Wesselmann was instrumental in the founding of the Pop Art movement. He was born and educated in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later studied at the Cooper Union in New York. Early in his artistic career he was under the strong influence of Willem de Kooning and the Abstract Expressionists, but his dedication to the human figure led him to look for new areas of interest.
This piece is part of a series inspired by Henri Matisse’s 1952 painting Blue Nude. The figures are based on sketches of Wesselmann’s wife Claire and are roughly life-size.
