Girl in Swing

Paul Wonner, Girl in Swing, 1957, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ruth J. Chase in memory of Dr. William Chase, 1997.45
Copied Paul Wonner, Girl in Swing, 1957, oil on canvas, 52 5⁄8 x 46 1⁄4 in. (133.7 x 117.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Ruth J. Chase in memory of Dr. William Chase, 1997.45

Artwork Details

Title
Girl in Swing
Artist
Date
1957
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
52 5⁄8 x 46 1⁄4 in. (133.7 x 117.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Ruth J. Chase in memory of Dr. William Chase
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — farm
  • Recreation — sport and play — swinging
Object Number
1997.45
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1997.45

Artwork Description

Although the Girl in Swing appears to be a spontaneous impression, Wonner sketched the composition in advance, then cropped the image to give the scene its you-are-there immediacy. In the original sketch an empty swing sits in the middle of a swath of green grass. In the final version, Wonner added the seated figure, pushed the swing hard against the left edge, added a small table, and allowed the field of yellow-green paint at the right to command almost half the surface. Wonner’s commitment to painting figurative canvases with drips, spatters and loose, free brushstrokes was shared by his friends David Park, Nathan Oliveira, and, for a time Richard Diebenkorn, who in the late 1950s were dubbed San Francisco Bay Area figurative painters.


Modern Masters: Midcentury Abstraction from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2008