Portrait Head Paintbrush Tree

Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Portrait Head Paintbrush Tree, 1991, mixed media: bottlecaps, paintbrushes, and paint on wood, 65 ¹⁄₈ x 22 ³⁄₄ x 18 ³⁄₄ in. (165.4 x 57.8 x 47.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase, 1992.10

Artwork Details

Title: Portrait Head Paintbrush Tree
Artist: Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack)
Date: 1991
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 65 ¹⁄₈ x 22 ³⁄₄ x 18 ³⁄₄ in. (165.4 x 57.8 x 47.6 cm.)
Credit Line: Museum Purchase
Mediums: mixed media
wood
paint
Mediums Description: mixed media: bottlecaps, paintbrushes, and paint on wood
Classifications: Sculpture
Assemblage
Subjects: Figure — head
Fantasy
Portrait group
Object — foliage
Object Number: 1992.10
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1992.10

Artwork Description

Mr. Imagination created sculptures from discarded bottle caps, paintbrushes, pieces of wood, and industrial sandstone. The regal heads in many of his sculptures were inspired by a vision the artist had in which he looked in the mirror and “had a flash of myself in a regal outfit with a crown or some type of headdress on.” His sculptures often resemble trees or totems, and in this piece, bottle caps blanket a tower of wood, topped with a cluster of paintbrush heads.