Amusement Land

Ynez Johnston, Amusement Land, 1956, pastel and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon C. Schild, 1981.137
Copied Ynez Johnston, Amusement Land, 1956, pastel and ink on paper, sheet: 24 x 35 1⁄2 in. (61.0 x 90.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon C. Schild, 1981.137

Artwork Details

Title
Amusement Land
Artist
Date
1956
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 24 x 35 1⁄2 in. (61.0 x 90.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon C. Schild
Mediums
Mediums Description
pastel and ink on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — commercial — recreation
  • Abstract
Object Number
1981.137
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1981.137

Artwork Description

Amusement Land alludes to California’s blockbuster attraction, Disneyland, which opened in July 1955. The park’s grand opening alone drew more than 15,000 visitors to Anaheim, not far from the artist’s home in Los Angeles. Within the pastel fields of color are references to the park itself, including a body of water, trees, roller coasters, and children’s faces. The red stripes repeated throughout the composition might refer to the sails of the park’s private ship. While most of Johnston’s works from the 1950s are obsessively intricate compositions resembling surreal cityscapes, this drawing is highly gestural, loose, and intentionally childlike.

Abstract Drawings, 2012