Untitled (Chicken)

Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Untitled (Chicken), ca. 1995, clay and syrup on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orren and Marilyn Bradley and Kohler Foundation, Inc., 2015.58.20
Copied Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Untitled (Chicken), ca. 1995, clay and syrup on plywood, 24 × 24 in. (61.0 × 61.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Orren and Marilyn Bradley and Kohler Foundation, Inc., 2015.58.20

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Chicken)
Artist
Date
ca. 1995
Location
Dimensions
24 × 24 in. (61.0 × 61.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Orren and Marilyn Bradley and Kohler Foundation, Inc.
Mediums Description
clay and syrup on plywood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Animal — bird — chicken
Object Number
2015.58.20
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2015.58.20

Artwork Description

Jimmy Lee Sudduth painted with mud and natural dyes. Using a substance he called “sweet mud” (local soils mixed with sugar or Coca-Cola), Sudduth would block out the shapes of the painting. He would then rub plants and berries onto the surface of the mud to add color. He painted subjects he saw around him in his Fayette, Alabama, home. Like many of Sudduth’s paintings, this chicken floats in an ambiguous space. Her head is tipped back and her mouth is open, ready to cluck. Sudduth used his fingers as brushes, and the red lines of the bird’s neck and tail reveal traces of the artist’s fingers.