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The Blue Thread
1984 Will Barnet Born: Beverly, Massachusetts 1911 Died: New York, New York 2012 oil on canvas 38 3/8 x 72 3/8 in. (97.4 x 83.9 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Gift of Frank K. Ribelin and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment 1996.72 Not currently on view
Will Barnet has painted several images of mothers and children that capture intimate scenes of family life. In The Blue Thread, the verticals and horizontals of the windows, table, and chair divide the painting into neat rectangles, and Barnet positioned his daughter, her son, and the family cat so that they evoke figures from an Egyptian wall painting. The subdued tones and stylized poses transform a fleeting moment in his household into an image that feels timeless.
For more information about this work visit the Luce Foundation Center.
Keywords
Animal - cat
Architecture Interior - detail - window
Figure group - female and child
Object - toy
Occupation - domestic - sewing
Recreation - leisure - home life
painting
paint - oil
fabric - canvas
About Will Barnet
Born: Beverly, Massachusetts 1911 Died: New York, New York 2012
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