On the Wharf

Keith McDaniel, On the Wharf, 1977, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.43
Keith McDaniel, On the Wharf, 1977, acrylic on canvas, 32 x 48 1⁄8 in. (81.3 x 122.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.43

Artwork Details

Title
On the Wharf
Artist
Date
1977
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
32 x 48 1⁄8 in. (81.3 x 122.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
acrylic on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — chimney
  • Object — other — flag
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — roof
  • Waterscape — wharf
  • Landscape — bird’s eye view
Object Number
1985.30.43
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.30.43

Artwork Description

Keith McDaniel was fascinated by the "sparse and unassuming" buildings on the wharf on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. He treated rooftops, windows, and walls as abstract shapes and painted them from unusual viewpoints. Here, the intersecting lines of the roofs dominate the composition, carrying the eye to the top left where an American flag flutters in the breeze. The delicate brushstrokes in the sky emphasize this sense of sweeping movement, so that the whole painting appears animated by the coastal winds.

Works by this artist (15 items)

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William H. Rau, Full Moon, n.d., albumen silver print mounted to stereographic card, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.245
Full Moon
Artist
Daten.d.
albumen silver print mounted to stereographic card
Not on view
William H. Rau, Admiral Dewey, Hero of Manila, after 1898, albumen silver prints mounted to stereographic card, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.242
Admiral Dewey, Hero of Manila
Artist
Dateafter 1898
albumen silver prints mounted to stereographic card
Not on view
William H. Rau, Sampson's Fleet. A Gunner of the "Iowa", 1898, albumen silver print mounted to stereographic card, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.238
Sampson’s Fleet. A Gunner of the ​“Iowa”
Artist
Date1898
albumen silver print mounted to stereographic card
Not on view
William H. Rau, Owasco Lake, Cascade Glen, for the Lehigh Valley Railroad, 1899, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.151
Owasco Lake, Cascade Glen, for the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Artist
Date1899
albumen silver print
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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David Haxton, Vertical and Receding Lines, 1974, 16mm film, black and white, silent; 05:30 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2011.15.2, © 1974, David Haxton
Vertical and Receding Lines
Artist
Date1974
16mm film, black and white, silent; 05:30 minutes
Not on view
Hans Breder, Quanta, 1967, single-channel video, color, silent; 03:46 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2013.50.4, © 1967, Hans Breder
Quanta
Artist
Date1967
single-channel video, color, silent; 03:46 minutes
Not on view
Image Not Available
Eureka
Artist
Date1974
16 mm Plus-X print, black and white, silent; 30:00 minutes
Not on view
Carolee Schneemann, Viet Flakes, 1965, 16mm film transferred to video, toned black & white, sound; 07:00 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2008.21.9, © 1965 Carolee Schneemann Foundation. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Viet Flakes
Artist
Date1965
16mm film transferred to video, toned black & white, sound; 07:00 minutes
Not on view