Pallas Athena – Earth

Grace Hartigan, Pallas Athena--Earth, 1961, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.17
Copied Grace Hartigan, Pallas Athena--Earth, 1961, oil on canvas, 64 1⁄8 x 52 1⁄8 in. (162.9 x 132.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.17

Artwork Details

Title
Pallas Athena – Earth
Artist
Date
1961
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
64 1⁄8 x 52 1⁄8 in. (162.9 x 132.4 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc.
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Allegory — element — earth
  • Mythology — classical — Athena
  • Abstract
Object Number
1969.47.17
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1969.47.17

Artwork Description

Pallas Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom, strategy, and war. Grace Hartigan has been inspired by fantasy since childhood, when she would dream up stories filled with gypsies, queens, and fairy-tale characters. Here, figural elements emerge from the image, such as the suggestion of a face in the top right, but Hartigan's thick, abstract strokes of paint dominate the canvas. The rich tones of red, brown, and black evoke the earth, spreading across the lower half of the canvas, and the jumbled mass of color at the top may represent the confusion and noise of the realm of the gods. (Barber, "Making Some Marks," quoted in Mattison, Grace Hartigan: A Painter's World, 1990)

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