Amusement Land

Ynez Johnston, Amusement Land, 1956, pastel and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon C. Schild, 1981.137
Ynez Johnston, Amusement Land, 1956, pastel and ink on paper, sheet: 2435 12 in. (61.090.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon C. Schild, 1981.137

Artwork Details

Title
Amusement Land
Date
1956
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 2435 12 in. (61.090.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon C. Schild
Mediums
Mediums Description
pastel and ink on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — commercial — recreation
  • Abstract
Object Number
1981.137

Artwork Description

Amusement Land alludes to California’s blockbuster attraction, Disneyland, which opened in July 1955. The park’s grand opening alone drew more than 15,000 visitors to Anaheim, not far from the artist’s home in Los Angeles. Within the pastel fields of color are references to the park itself, including a body of water, trees, roller coasters, and children’s faces. The red stripes repeated throughout the composition might refer to the sails of the park’s private ship. While most of Johnston’s works from the 1950s are obsessively intricate compositions resembling surreal cityscapes, this drawing is highly gestural, loose, and intentionally childlike.

Abstract Drawings, 2012

Works by this artist (1 item)

Ynez Johnston, Amusement Land, 1956, pastel and ink on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gordon C. Schild, 1981.137
Amusement Land
Date1956
pastel and ink on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Loren MacIver, Key West Arrangement, ca. 1939-1940, pen and ink and pastel on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from General Services Administration, 1971.447.64
Key West Arrangement
Dateca. 1939-1940
pen and ink and pastel on paper
Not on view
Paul Goodnight, Endangered Species, 1980, pastel, charcoal, pencil, and pen and ink on paper mounted on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1980.144
Endangered Species
Date1980
pastel, charcoal, pencil, and pen and ink on paper mounted on paperboard
Not on view
Untitled
Date1979
ink, colored ink, pencil and pastel on paper
Not on view
Frank Koci, Crucifixion, 1974, felt-tipped pen and ink, charcoal, tempera, pastel, and crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.176
Crucifixion
Date1974
felt-tipped pen and ink, charcoal, tempera, pastel, and crayon on paper
Not on view