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Alfred McAdams, Concerto Grosso, 1976-1981, oil and acrylic on canvas linen, 39 1⁄4 x 50 in. (99.7 x 127.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1981.157.1
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Concerto Grosso
- Artist
- Date
- 1976-1981
- Location
- Dimensions
- 39 1⁄4 x 50 in. (99.7 x 127.0 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of the artist
- Mediums Description
- oil and acrylic on canvas linen
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
- Landscape — tree
- Figure female — waist length
- Object Number
- 1981.157.1
Artwork Description
Alfred McAdams worked as an architect, and many of his paintings from the 1970s include precisely rendered images of buildings. In Concerto Grosso the architecture and the woman's clothing recall the first two decades of the twentieth century. At first glance, the painting appears to show an everyday scene of a middle-aged woman standing in front of her house. But a closer look reveals strange elements that give the image a disquieting edge, such as the dramatic shadows across the trees and on the woman's face, and the horizon line that appears to shift unnaturally behind her head.