Untitled

Copied James Castle, Untitled, ca. 1931-1977, soot on found paper, recto: 3 14 × 4 34 in. (8.3 × 12.1 cm) verso: sight 2 78 × 4 14 in. (7.3 × 10.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.13R-V

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled
Artist
Date
ca. 1931-1977
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
recto: 3 14 × 4 34 in. (8.3 × 12.1 cm) verso: sight 2 78 × 4 14 in. (7.3 × 10.8 cm)
Credit Line
The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson
Mediums Description
soot on found paper
Classifications
Keywords
  • Landscape
  • Object — art object — totem pole
Object Number
2016.38.13R-V

Artwork Description

Castle’s favored painting media was wood soot, which created a soft black pigment when diluted. He gathered mail and printed ephemera and used these materials in various ways. Sometimes the text, illustrations, or photographs inspired Castle to make closely related images, and at times he painted directly on cast-off envelopes or fragments of commercial cartons. When Castle obtained colorful printed materials or bits of crepe paper, he leeched their dyes by saturating them in water, extracting his own water-based paints. He roughed up the surfaces he worked on so they would better absorb the diluted colors.
(We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022)