Swan I
Swan I
Artist
Frank Bowling
(Guyanese, born 1934)
Date1964
MediumOil and feathers on canvas
Dimensions44 1/4 × 96 1/4 × 7/8 in. (112.4 × 244.5 × 2.2 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2021.5
Accession number
2021.5
On View
Not on viewLabel TextAgainst the Pan-African colors in a chevron pattern, a swan’s neck extends toward the peak of this diamond-shaped canvas. Notice how the swan’s flailing figure shatters the work’s precise geometry. On the right, a circular form warps into patchy pools muddled by feathers matted into the paint. Playing off the idea that people need to “straighten up and fly right,” Frank Bowling uses the swan struggling towards the sky as a charged symbol of freedom.
El cuello de un cisne se extiende sobre los colores panafricanos en un diseño de chevron, hacia el punto más alto de este lienzo en forma de diamante. Note cómo la tambaleante figura del cisne rompe la geometría precisa de la obra. A la derecha, una forma circular se deforma en desordenados charcos de plumas incrustadas en la pintura. Jugando con la idea de que la gente necesita “enderezarse e ir por el buen camino”, Frank Bowling utiliza el cisne luchando para llegar al cielo como un símbolo cargado de libertad.
Inscribedverso, on stretcher: FRANK BOWLING "SWAN I" 1964
Markingsverso, on stretcher, written on yellow tape: K6-634
verso, on stretcher, label: Frank Bowling / Tate Britain (London, UK) / Bowling, Frank born 1934 / Swan I 1964 / Oil paint on canvas, feathers1120 x 2440 mm / Private collection / X72952
verso, on stretcher, label: Alexander Gray Associates / 510 West 26 Street / New York NY 10001 / United States / Tel: +1 212 399 2636 / www.alexandergray.com / Frank Bowling / Swan I, 1964 / Signed, titled, and dated on verso / Oil and mixed media on canvas / 44 x 96 in (111.8 x 243.8 cm) / (FBO150)
verso, on stretcher, handwritten on label: 3186 b
