Tom Wesselmann

STUDY FOR BEDROOM PAINTING #39

1977
colored pencil on tracing paper
6 x 8 1/2 inches

In the 1960s Tom Wesselmann became one of the leading American Pop artists. Wesselmann is perhaps best known for his paintings of the female form depicted with stark colors and a graphic line quality. In the late 1960s, Wesselmann moved to more close-up views of the female form in his Bedroom Paintings. In these works, fragments of the female body merge into a surface composed of common objects and patterns found in a domestic setting, seen here in Study for Bedroom Painting #39. The crowded, flattened composition merges the woman’s profile with floral wall paper, a lampshade, actual flowers, and the edge of a picture frame. This intimate work on paper shows the meticulous sense of composition, color, and design that Wesselmann would explore for over four decades. Wesselmann’s work is in numerous public collections and has been the subject of solo and group museum presentations worldwide.