Fourth of July Still Life
Date1975
MediumScreenprint on paper
DimensionsPlate: 36 × 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm)
Framed: 48 × 46 inches (121.9 × 116.8 cm)
Portfolio/SeriesKent Bicentennial portfolio, "Spirit of Independence"
Credit LineGift of Lorillard, a Division of Loew’s Theatres, Inc.
Object number1977.25
Copyright© Audrey L. Flack.
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 TextAudrey Flack is considered one of the most important photorealist painters of the mid-20th century. She and her contemporaries attempted to reproduce photographs in a highly detailed manner using another medium that often ticked the eye of the viewer. Flack rejected the notion that photorealistic paintings must always be ordinary and cold, instead claiming her work as “humanist, emotional, and filled with referential symbolic imagery.”
Responding to the question “What does Independence mean to me?” Flack drew upon her memories of the Fourth of July and how she "grew up on the streets of New York, and all of the objects I represented in the work came out of my American childhood. I have chosen these objects because they evoke memories, feelings, sounds, and colors of America. The brash sound of a trumpet, the tinsel of a shiny firecracker, the kitsch appeal of a dime store liberty bell. I have tried to create an absolutely American still life." She also included bright silver beads in the middle of the composition to “denote a feminine presence.”
