Edson’s Flag

Marie Watt, Edson's Flag, 2004, American flag (from U.S. military burial) with wool blankets, satin, and thread, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Driek and Michael Zirinsky in honor of Jane Beebe and Spencer Beebe, 2015.28.7, © 2004, Marie K. Watt
Marie Watt, Edson's Flag, 2004, American flag (from U.S. military burial) with wool blankets, satin, and thread, 130 × 84 in. (330.2 × 213.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Driek and Michael Zirinsky in honor of Jane Beebe and Spencer Beebe, 2015.28.7, © 2004, Marie K. Watt

Artwork Details

Title
Edson’s Flag
Artist
Date
2004
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
130 × 84 in. (330.2 × 213.4 cm)
Copyright
© 2004, Marie K. Watt
Credit Line
Gift of Driek and Michael Zirinsky in honor of Jane Beebe and Spencer Beebe
Mediums Description
American flag (from U.S. military burial) with wool blankets, satin, and thread
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — other — flag
Object Number
2015.28.7

Artwork Description

Artist Marie Watt has asked, "What happens when American art includes Indigenous art in [the] narrative? How does that shift the stories we tell about what it means to be American?"

In Edson's Flag, Watt, a member of the Seneca Nation, pays tribute to Indigenous warriors and war veterans, including her great-uncle Edson. She makes a unified piece from pieces that might not seem to fit easily together--a section of patchwork quilt, wool blankets evoking trade-goods (one army-green, one red), and an American flag. Invoking icons of America that are overtly connected to mainstream white culture, she summons an alternate set of associations from these same forms--specifically those related to intergenerational, Indigenous memory.

Works by this artist (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Young Pastry Cook, ca. 1928-1930, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.693
Young Pastry Cook
Dateca. 1928-1930
oil on canvas
On view
William H. Johnson, Little Sweet, 1944, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1076
Little Sweet
Date1944
oil on paperboard
On view
William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Man, ca. 1935-1938, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.814
Portrait of a Man
Dateca. 1935-1938
oil on burlap
On view

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      Explore Marie Watt’s artistic journey through unconventional materials and textiles. In this video she discusses how her work Edson’s Flag honors veterans, her family, and her Native culture. Learn how her artistic focus turned to blankets, which she sees as humble and simple objects that are imprinted with the powerful stories of our lives.

      Exhibitions

      Media - 2016.11 - SAAM-2016.11_6 - 124929
      Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
      November 13, 2015March 6, 2022
      Connections is the Renwick Gallery’s dynamic ongoing permanent collection presentation, featuring more than 80 objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.

      More Artworks from the Collection

      Untitled
      Date1979
      ink, colored ink, pencil and pastel on paper
      Not on view
      William H. Johnson, Portrait of a Woman in Profile, ca. 1944, recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper
verso: pen and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.485R-V
      Portrait of a Woman in Profile
      Dateca. 1944
      recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper verso: pen and ink on paper
      Not on view
      William H. Johnson, Seated Female Nude, ca. 1939-1940, brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.247
      Seated Female Nude
      Dateca. 1939-1940
      brush and ink and pencil on paper
      Not on view
      William H. Johnson, Mountains, Norway, ca. 1935-1938, recto: brush and ink on paper
verso: brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.122R-V
      Mountains, Norway
      Dateca. 1935-1938
      recto: brush and ink on paper verso: brush and ink and pencil on paper
      Not on view