Untitled

James Castle, Untitled, ca. 1931-1977, color of unknown origin and soot on found paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.16
Copied James Castle, Untitled, ca. 1931-1977, color of unknown origin and soot on found paper, 4 3⁄4 × 4 3⁄4 in. (12.1 × 12.1 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.16

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled
Artist
Date
ca. 1931-1977
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
4 3⁄4 × 4 3⁄4 in. (12.1 × 12.1 cm)
Credit Line
The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson
Mediums Description
color of unknown origin and soot on found paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Dress — accessory — coat
  • Figure group — female
Object Number
2016.38.16
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2016.38.16

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)

Exhibitions

Media - 2016.38.43R-V - SAAM-2016.38.43R-V_2 - 126225
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection
July 1, 2022–March 26, 2023
Smithsonian American Art Museum
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection traces the rise of self-taught artists in the twentieth century and examines how, despite wide-ranging societal, racial, and gender-based obstacles, their creativity and