The Pie-Faced Squilk and Her Pink-Nosed Neighbor by Edward Steichen

The Pie-Faced Squilk and Her Pink-Nosed Neighbor c. 1922

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Artwork details

Medium
drawing
Dimensions
image: 20 x 15.88 cm (7 7/8 x 6 1/4 in.) sheet: 25.4 x 17.78 cm (10 x 7 in.)
Copyright
National Gallery of Art: CC0 1.0

Tags

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photo of handprinted image

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drawing

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toned paper

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water colours

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pastel soft colours

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muted colour palette

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pastel colours

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tile art

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pastel tone

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watercolour illustration

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watercolor

About this artwork

Edward Steichen made this painting, "The Pie-Faced Squilk and Her Pink-Nosed Neighbor," with I'm guessing paint and maybe paper, and who knows when? The way the colors sit flat, bumping up against each other, feels like a game. It’s like Steichen set out to make a world with just a few shapes and shades. The paint isn't trying to trick you into seeing something real. It's more interested in being itself, thick in some spots, a little see-through in others. I keep coming back to that pink triangle, the nose. It's not just a shape; it’s the eye, the focal point. And the flat purple triangle sitting on top of the blue rectangle is amazing. It's like a little architectural joke, like a building block, and reminds me of the work of Stuart Davis. This piece is a reminder that art can be serious play, and maybe play is serious, too.

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