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Jack Earl, Dear Fay..., 1984, painted ceramic, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of KPMG Peat Marwick, 1993.54.3
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Dear Fay…
- Artist
- Date
- 1984
- Location
- Dimensions
- 20 3⁄4 x 20 1⁄2 x 17 1⁄2 in. (52.7 x 52.1 x 44.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of KPMG Peat Marwick
- Mediums Description
- painted ceramic
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Object — tool — water pump
- Landscape — tree — pine tree
- Portrait female — unidentified — Fay
- Animal — dog
- Object Number
- 1993.54.3
Artwork Description
This simple scene of a young woman standing on a sloping grassy hill is made more complex by the long title that Jack Earl has engraved in it: "Dear Fay, I saw you in church Easter, and thought you looked real nice. If it is alright with you I would like to sit next to you next Sunday. Yours truly, Jack Earl." This piece portrays the artist's wife as a young girl, whom he met when her family moved to his town. Sitting at Fay's side is a dog, an animal that is often present in Earl’s ceramic scenes and that he sculpts to look more lifelike than the people.
Luce Object Quote
"Earl presents simple people doing ordinary things, namely the stuff of life of mainstream Middle America . . . [These are] . . . private people, who tell their innermost thoughts only to their intimate familiars, particularly their dogs." Geraldine Wonjno Kiefer, 1982