Jackpot Machine

Wayne Thiebaud, Jackpot Machine, 1962, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum and gift of an anonymous donor, 1995.37
Wayne Thiebaud, Jackpot Machine, 1962, oil on canvas, 3826 78 in. (96.568.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum and gift of an anonymous donor, 1995.37

Artwork Details

Title
Jackpot Machine
Date
1962
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3826 78 in. (96.568.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the American Art Forum and gift of an anonymous donor
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Subjects
  • Recreation — sport and play — slot machine
Object Number
1995.37

Artwork Description

Thiebaud painted Jackpot Machine just as he broke into the national scene after years of surviving on commercial art and cartooning. A coin slot peers over the top edge of the machine like one wary eye. The one-armed bandit blocks the viewer's path and the pay slot gapes as if to say "your money or your life." But the image is as seductive as it is aggressive. Thiebaud believes that "painting is more important than art," and he uses luscious paint to capture the jacked-up colors of California's unabashedly commercial culture. Creamy strokes of red, white, and blue invite the viewer to follow the American dream, grab the handle and get rich quick, like all those who come to the West Coast looking for the prize. Only two out of three tokens line up, however, as if Thiebaud wanted to point out how random success can be.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006

Works by this artist (1 item)

Nancy Wolf, Expulsion, 1980, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the collection of Eric Green and Jock Truman, 1996.20
Expulsion
Date1980
pencil on paper
Not on view

Audio

Stop 138: Jackpot Machine

Jackpot Machine
1962, oil on canvas

WAYNE THIEBAUD
Born: Mesa, Arizona 1920

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