Modern Cycle

Grace Hartigan, Modern Cycle, 1967, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection, 1980.137.33
Copied Grace Hartigan, Modern Cycle, 1967, oil on canvas, 78 1⁄2 x 108 1⁄2 in. (199.4 x 275.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection, 1980.137.33

Artwork Details

Title
Modern Cycle
Artist
Date
1967
Location
Dimensions
78 1⁄2 x 108 1⁄2 in. (199.4 x 275.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
  • Figure
Object Number
1980.137.33
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1980.137.33

Artwork Description

My male students at the time were obsessed with motorcycles--one even kept his in his studio--and out of sheer self-preservation I bought a poster of Brando on a bike and [of] Peter Fonda, some cycle magazines, pinned them on my painting wall and Modern Cycle was the result. It is, incidentally, one of my favorite paintings.
--Grace Hartigan

Grace Hartigan's work often combines the spontaneity and large scale of abstract painting with images drawn from popular culture or everyday experience. In Modern Cycle, we see fragments of people and motorbikes--a dynamic mix of human and mechanical, masculine and feminine.