Orange Thrush

Paula McCartney, Orange Thrush, 2004, chromogenic print, image: 1919 in. (48.348.3 cm) sheet: 2420 in. (61.050.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2010.44.1A-B, © 2010, Paula McCartney

Artwork Details

Title
Orange Thrush
Date
2004
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
image: 1919 in. (48.348.3 cm) sheet: 2420 in. (61.050.8 cm)
Copyright
© 2010, Paula McCartney
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description
chromogenic print
Classifications
Subjects
  • Animal — bird — thrush
  • Landscape
Object Number
2010.44.1A-B

Artwork Description

Paula McCartney’s Bird Watching photographs playfully parody bird watchers’ desire to identify and inventory their avian finds. Although she does not consider herself a birder, McCartney collects field guides and uses them to help name her craft-store birds and provide believable attributions. Like the photographs themselves, the accompanying specimen labels are a combination of truth and fiction. They lend a sense of authority, albeit false, to the images and enhance the illusion. The labels also serve as a reminder that our experience and understanding of nature is mediated through a wide range of tools and cultural conventions, like field guides.


The Singing & the Silence: Birds in Contemporary Art, 2014

Works by this artist (1 item)

Duane Hanson, Woman Eating, 1971, polyester resin and fiberglass with oil and acrylic paints and found accessories, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2005.22A-Z
Woman Eating
Date1971
polyester resin and fiberglass with oil and acrylic paints and found accessories
Not on view

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Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
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Date1976
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Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
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Nathan Oliveira, Site with Blue and White, 1978, monotype, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Moses Lasky, 2004.32.14
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Date1978
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