Wedding Dream in Nudist Colony

Media - 1986.65.122 - SAAM-1986.65.122_1 - 87734
Copied Gustave Klumpp, Wedding Dream in Nudist Colony, 1971, oil on canvas, 2430 in. (61.076.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.122

Artwork Details

Title
Wedding Dream in Nudist Colony
Date
1971
Dimensions
2430 in. (61.076.2 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Keywords
  • Landscape — bird’s eye view
  • Landscape — town
  • Recreation — sport and play — swimming
  • Figure group — nude
  • Ceremony — wedding
Object Number
1986.65.122

Artwork Description

Gustave Klumpp was fascinated by the nude female figure and painted many fantasy landscapes of unclothed people in exotic surroundings. He sometimes painted himself into the image, too, as a voyeur looking on from the sidelines. In this bird’s-eye view of a nudist colony, the rows of trees, winding pathways, and lack of perspective create a colorful, two-dimensional pattern that almost distracts us from its provocative subject.

Luce Object Quote

“My philosophy of art painting . . . is expressed in the visualization of painting beautiful girls in the nude or seminude and in fictitious surroundings . . .” Gustave Klumpp, “Abbreviated History of My Life,” 1972