Tea Bag, from the portfolio Four on Plexiglas

Claes Oldenburg, Tea Bag, from the portfolio Four on Plexiglas, 1965-1966/published 1966, screenprint on plexiglas and felt, with rope and vacuum-formed plexiglas mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1966.41.3, © 1966, Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg, Tea Bag, from the portfolio Four on Plexiglas, 1965-1966/published 1966, screenprint on plexiglas and felt, with rope and vacuum-formed plexiglas mounted on paperboard, image, plexiglas, and mount: 40303 12 in. (101.676.28.9 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1966.41.3, © 1966, Claes Oldenburg

Artwork Details

Title
Tea Bag, from the portfolio Four on Plexiglas
Publisher
Multiples Press
Date
1965-1966/published 1966
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image, plexiglas, and mount: 40303 12 in. (101.676.28.9 cm) irregular
Copyright
© 1966, Claes Oldenburg
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
screenprint on plexiglas and felt, with rope and vacuum-formed plexiglas mounted on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — foodstuff — beverage
Object Number
1966.41.3

Artwork Description

Claes Oldenburg reconstructed ordinary objects in exaggerated scale and with unexpected materials that defy the nature of the original thing. Tea Bag includes a large piece of Plexiglas -- a hard, industrial material -- molded into the shape of a teabag, an object that in reality is small and soft. The sly, humorous tone of Oldenburg's imagery was an antidote to the seriousness of traditional still-life compositions.

Pop Art Prints, 2014

Works by this artist (244 items)

Winslow Homer, High Cliff, Coast of Maine, 1894, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 1909.7.29
High Cliff, Coast of Maine
Date1894
oil on canvas
On view
Winslow Homer, A Visit from the Old Mistress, 1876, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 1909.7.28
A Visit from the Old Mistress
Date1876
oil on canvas
On view
Winslow Homer, Homeward Bound, from Harper's Weekly, December 21, 1867, 1867, wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Ray Austrian Collection, gift of Beatrice L. Austrian, Caryl A. Austrian and James A. Austrian, 1996.63.125
Homeward Bound, from Harper’s Weekly, December 211867
Date1867
wood engraving on paper
Not on view

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