The American Scene

J. Fred Woell, The American Scene, 1988, silver and Civil War bullet shell fragment of copper-clad steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld, 1991.114, © 1989, J. Fred Woell
Copied J. Fred Woell, The American Scene, 1988, silver and Civil War bullet shell fragment of copper-clad steel, 1 3⁄8 x 1 7⁄8 x 1⁄2 in. (4.1 x 4.7 x 1.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld, 1991.114, © 1989, J. Fred Woell

Artwork Details

Title
The American Scene
Artist
Date
1988
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
1 3⁄8 x 1 7⁄8 x 1⁄2 in. (4.1 x 4.7 x 1.3 cm.)
Copyright
© 1989, J. Fred Woell
Credit Line
Gift of Eleanor T. and Samuel J. Rosenfeld
Mediums
Mediums Description
silver and Civil War bullet shell fragment of copper-clad steel
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group
  • Portrait male — Sanders, Colonel
  • Occupation — military — soldier
Object Number
1991.114
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1991.114

Artwork Description

In The American Scene, Fred Woell plays on ideas of the sacred and the secular, contrasting a portrait of Colonel Sanders with a coin portrait of Abraham Lincoln and a fragment of a Civil War bullet. The phrase "Our Lady of the Highway Pray for Us" evokes the restlessness of the American people. Although the different parts of this work initially appear to be unconnected, Woell chose his icons carefully. After all, Lincoln is revered as a leader and healer of our nation and Kentucky was his birth state, long before "Colonel Sanders."