The Message

Philip C. Curtis, The Message, 1978, oil on gesso board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2001.51.2
Copied Philip C. Curtis, The Message, 1978, oil on gesso board, 25 3⁄4 x 8 in. (65.4 x 20.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of the artist, 2001.51.2

Artwork Details

Title
The Message
Artist
Date
1978
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
25 3⁄4 x 8 in. (65.4 x 20.3 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of the artist
Mediums Description
oil on gesso board
Classifications
Keywords
  • Object — other — sign
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — door
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — window
Object Number
2001.51.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2001.51.2

Artwork Description

Philip C. Curtis sometimes incorporated written words in his paintings to suggest a story beyond the picture frame. In The Message the simple sign invites us to wonder who will be back in one hour, when the hour began, and where they have gone. The brick-patterned frame makes us feel part of the image, as if the painting itself is a doorway to another world. To step through would lead to a corridor of doors, eventually to a window and blue sky beyond. That distant window suggests that “back in one hour” might never happen.