Interior: Late August

Wynn Chamberlain, Interior: Late August, 1955, egg tempera on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.16
Copied Wynn Chamberlain, Interior: Late August, 1955, egg tempera on fiberboard, 23 1⁄4 x 16 1⁄4 in. (59.0 x 41.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.16

Artwork Details

Title
Interior: Late August
Artist
Date
1955
Location
Dimensions
23 1⁄4 x 16 1⁄4 in. (59.0 x 41.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
egg tempera on fiberboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — furniture — bed
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — bedroom
  • Architecture Interior — detail — window
  • Object — furniture — chair
  • Cityscape — season — summer
Object Number
1986.6.16
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.16

Artwork Description

Wynn Chamberlain created this painting at the suggestion of an art dealer, who was exhibiting portraits of interior spaces. This haunting view of an unmade bed, open window, and a pinup calendar leads us to wonder who lives there. We can only see a corner of the bed, and it is easy to imagine the anonymous occupant is asleep. We are voyeurs, spying through the keyhole under the darkness of night.