Sleeping Child

Will Barnet, Sleeping Child, 1961, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.1
Will Barnet, Sleeping Child, 1961, oil on canvas, 62 x 48 in. (157.4 x 122.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.1

Artwork Details

Title
Sleeping Child
Artist
Date
1961
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
62 x 48 in. (157.4 x 122.0 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • State of being — other — sleep
  • Figure group — female and child
Object Number
1986.6.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.1

Artwork Description

Will Barnet experimented with abstraction in the 1950s but in the early 1960s returned to the figure. Painting the human form, he said, allowed him to explore the states of mind and human relationships. His foray into abstraction paid off in Sleeping Child. The linear simplicity of the feminine forms and softness of the gray-black palette speak to the universality of the bond between mother and child.


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

Works by this artist (32 items)

View all artworks
Will Barnet, Positano, 1960, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.4
Positano
Artist
Date1960
oil on canvas
On view
Will Barnet, Mother and Child, ca. 1945, lithographic crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1994.42.5
Mother and Child
Artist
Dateca. 1945
lithographic crayon on paper
Not on view
Will Barnet, Portrait of Frank Ribelin, ca. 1983, charcoal on vellum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1994.42.3
Portrait of Frank Ribelin
Artist
Dateca. 1983
charcoal on vellum
Not on view
Will Barnet, Study for Summer, ca. 1986, charcoal on vellum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1994.42.4
Study for Summer
Artist
Dateca. 1986
charcoal on vellum
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
Smithsonian American Art Museum
This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.