Fear

Robert Vickrey, Fear, 1954, egg tempera on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.82
Robert Vickrey, Fear, 1954, egg tempera on paperboard, 34 1458 14 in. (87.0148.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.82

Artwork Details

Title
Fear
Date
1954
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
34 1458 14 in. (87.0148.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
egg tempera on paperboard
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — building
  • Disaster
  • Figure female — full length
  • State of being — emotion — fear
  • Occupation — religion — nun
Object Number
1986.6.82

Artwork Description

During the 1950s, Robert Vickrey painted, made experimental films, and traveled around the world doing sketches for Time magazine. Throughout his work he assumed the perspective of the detached observer but said that to the careful viewer his paintings “always [convey] a sense of danger.” This is certainly true of Fear, in which Vickrey employed the shimmering medium of egg tempera for an image of a nun fleeing what he described as “the rubble and erosion of contemporary civilization.”


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

Works by this artist (8 items)

John Cage, Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A, 1969, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1972.96
Not Wanting to Say Anything about Marcel, Lithograph A
Date1969
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven, 1978, color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.7
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Seven
Date1978
color etching with hard ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five, 1978, hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.5
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Five
Date1978
hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching, and found objects
Not on view
John Cage, Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six, 1978, color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.5.6
Seven Day Diary (Not Knowing), Day Six
Date1978
color etching with hard and soft ground etching, drypoint, sugar aquatint, photo etching and found objects
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.

More Artworks from the Collection

Al Blaustein, Family and Friends, ca. 1967, pen and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.4
Family and Friends
Dateca. 1967
pen and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Soldiers Standing with Rifles, ca. 1941-1942, recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper
verso: pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.564R-V
Soldiers Standing with Rifles
Dateca. 1941-1942
recto: pen and ink and pencil on paper verso: pencil on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Storefront Church, ca. 1940-1941, pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.566
Storefront Church
Dateca. 1940-1941
pen and ink and pencil with wash on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway, ca. 1935-1938, brush and ink and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.127
Mountains and Blossoming Trees, Norway
Dateca. 1935-1938
brush and ink and pencil on paper
Not on view