Paintbox
Paintbox

© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Paintbox
Paintbox

Currently not on view

Paintbox,

1970

Arman, French, 1928–2005
x1971-25 a.1-.5
Both the Arman paintbox and the Jasper Johns relief represent witty transformations—even transubstantiations—of the medium of painting. Aman’s accumulation includes the implements of a painter, sealed permanently in clear resin and placed in a briefcase along with a collection of stencils. Johns, known for revisiting the same theme in a variety of formats, made a bronze version of his iconic flag paintings from the 1950s and 1960s. While Arman reimagines painting as a portable object, Johns turns it into a part sculpture.

Information

Title
Paintbox
Dates

1970

Maker
Arman
Medium
Wooden paintbox with leather handle, brass clasps
Dimensions
.1 (paint box): 43 × 51 × 9 cm (16 15/16 × 20 1/16 × 3 9/16 in.) .2 (paint tubes): 12.8 × 48 × 2.5 cm (5 1/16 × 18 7/8 × 1 in.) .3 (trowels): 8.5 × 23.6 × 2.5 cm (3 3/8 × 9 5/16 × 1 in.) .4 (watercolor dishes): 8.6 × 23.8 × 2.5 cm (3 3/8 × 9 3/8 × 1 in.) .5 (brushes): 12.4 × 49 × 2.5 cm (4 7/8 × 19 5/16 × 1 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Henry Strater, Class of 1919
Object Number
x1971-25 a.1-.5
Place Made

North America, United States, New York, New York

Inscription
Painted with stencils in red paint on lid: PAINTBOX Signed with red paint on lid: Arman Edition and signature scratched on each block of plastic: 68//125 Arman
Culture
French
Type
paint boxes
Materials
leather, woodbins, brass (alloy)
Subject
boxes (containers)

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