Artwork Details
- Title
- The Blue Thread
- Artist
- Date
- 1984
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 38 3⁄8 x 72 3⁄8 in. (97.4 x 83.9 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Frank K. Ribelin and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- oil on canvas
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Animal — cat
- Figure group — female and child
- Occupation — domestic — sewing
- Recreation — leisure — home life
- Object — toy
- Architecture Interior — detail — window
- Object Number
- 1996.72
Artwork Description
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.
Works by this artist (9 items)
Videos
An interview with the artist Will Barnet. Will Barnet studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, then moved to New York in 1930 to attend the Art Students League. After his first son was born, Barnet began a series of paintings that show scenes of family life. He experimented with abstraction for several years, aiming to "eliminate realistic space" in favor of simple geometric forms. His later work is more representational and focuses almost entirely on the female form. ("Will Barnet, Works of Six Decades," American Art Review, June-July 1994)