Winning

Emma Amos, Winning, 1982, acrylic on linen with hand-woven fabric, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2019.15, © 1982, Ryan Lee Gallery, New York
Emma Amos, Winning, 1982, acrylic on linen with hand-woven fabric, 75 × 64 in. (190.5 × 162.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2019.15, © 1982, Ryan Lee Gallery, New York

Artwork Details

Title
Winning
Artist
Date
1982
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
75 × 64 in. (190.5 × 162.6 cm)
Copyright
© 1982, Ryan Lee Gallery, New York
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums Description
acrylic on linen with hand-woven fabric
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female — full length
Object Number
2019.15

Artwork Description

I've just always loved yarn. I've loved paint. I've loved anything that could rely on color or just line.
--Emma Amos

Emma Amos threaded the fleeting moments of her everyday life as a Black woman into poignant artworks. Winning is a snapshot of the moment a leaping woman becomes airborne. The exultant figure, made of a patchwork of woven swatches, threads, and ribbons, celebrates Amos's commitment to fiber art even as she gained widespread recognition for her paintings and prints.

From 1961 to 1973 she worked for famed textile designer Dorothy Liebes, and in the 1970s she taught weaving at Threadbare Unlimited in Greenwich Village and the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. Amos even produced the Boston public television program Show of Hands about crafts. Winning is more than just a moment: it indicates Amos's deliberate leap to elevate women's work in her art. 

Works by this artist (744 items)

William Zorach, Head of Abraham Walkowitz, 1943, plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.130
Head of Abraham Walkowitz
Date1943
plaster
On view
William Zorach, Kneeling Boy with Bird and Dog, ca. 1935, cast plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.137
Kneeling Boy with Bird and Dog
Dateca. 1935
cast plaster
On view
William Zorach, Three Graces (study for), 1960, cast and patinated plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1971.449.30
Three Graces (study for)
Date1960
cast and patinated plaster
On view
William Zorach, Floating Figure, 1922, cast plaster, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Tessim Zorach and Dahlov Ipcar, 1968.154.3
Floating Figure
Date1922
cast plaster
On view

Exhibitions

Media - 2019.15 - SAAM-2019.15_1 - 137377
Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women
May 31, 2024January 5, 2025
The artists in Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women mastered and subverted the everyday materials of cotton, felt, and wool to create deeply personal artworks.

More Artworks from the Collection

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1982, oil stick and waxed crayon on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sam Rose and Julie Walters, 2018.16
Untitled
Date1982
oil stick and waxed crayon on paper
Not on view
Jeff Donaldson, Victory in Zimbabwe, 1980, mixed media on cardboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2019.1, © 2018, Estate of Jeff Donaldson
Victory in Zimbabwe
Date1980
mixed media on cardboard
Not on view
"Prophet" Royal Robertson, Space Gun Drawing, n.d., pencil, marker, paint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.30
Space Gun Drawing
Daten.d.
pencil, marker, paint on paper
Not on view
Joseph Cornell, Untitled (Rorschach drawing), n.d., drawing, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, 1991.155.408
Untitled (Rorschach drawing)
Daten.d.
drawing
Not on view