Nike with Broken Wings

Marilyn Pappas, Nike with Broken Wings, April 2002, cotton, linen, and gold thread, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2021.48.2
Marilyn Pappas, Nike with Broken Wings, April 2002, cotton, linen, and gold thread, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Fleur S. Bresler, 2021.48.2

Artwork Details

Title
Nike with Broken Wings
Date
April 2002
Location
Not on view
Credit Line
Gift of Fleur S. Bresler
Mediums
Mediums Description
cotton, linen, and gold thread
Subjects
  • Mythology — classical — Nike
Object Number
2021.48.2

Artwork Description

Marilyn Pappas made thousands of tiny stitches to illustrate a Hellenistic Greek sculpture of Nike, the goddess of victory. The artist equates embroidery with drawing, but as a slower and more satisfying process—with every stitch, she ponders the folds of time. “Larger than life, scarred and battered by the ravages of time, there is a peculiar beauty, vulnerability, and dignity in these mythical personifications of idealism,” the artist explains. Pappas, whose prolific career in fiber spans sixty years, has interpreted ancient goddesses with modern sensitivity. She imbues Nike with Broken Wings with a sense of feminist power and, of course, victory.


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (1 item)

Christine Sun Kim, One Week of Lullabies for Roux, 2018, seven tracks, sound, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2020.79.1, © 2018 Christine Sun Kim. Courtesy of the artist and François Ghebaly, Los Angeles
One Week of Lullabies for Roux
Date2018
seven tracks, sound
Not on view

Exhibitions

Quilt featuring the portrait of a woman
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World
May 13, 2022April 2, 2023
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today.