Page 98 July 5, 2013
DAN’S PAPERS
danspapers.com
Flag (Continued from previous page) he American flag has long been a symbol for the ideals and beliefs of the United States. And like any great image, it has not escaped the eye of some of the country’s finest artists, many of whom reside, or once resided, on the East End of Long Island. Here and in the following pages, we’ve selected a few examples of Hamptons artists using the American flag in their work. Some of these painters are famous, others are emerging,
yet others remain here only through their work and legacy, so many years after their deaths. Jasper Johns is far and away the most famous painter of American flags, but he was not the first or the last to appropriate the image. Hamptons visitor and Impressionist Childe Hassam’s most renowned work is his “Flag Series,” which began in 1916 and featured the building lined “canyons” of Manhattan festooned with American flags.
Later, East End painter Fairfield Porter (1907– 1975) found more subtle places for the flag in his work, as evidenced in “Great Spruce Head Island with Flag.” Today, the American flag continues to be used in work by numerous local artists, including “Stage Setter” by late East Ender Michael Knigin, “Birth of a Nation” by Oliver Peterson and “American Landscape” by Joseph Eschenberg.
Courtesy: Mary Boone and Lehmann Maupin Galleries
T
Above: Michael Knigin (American, 1942-2011), “Stage Setter,” Acrylic on canvas, 34 x 60 inches, 1991 Right: Ross Bleckner, “Gay Flag,” Lithograph, 1993 Copyright: Ross Bleckner
4 EVENT % 70 th of JULY
OFF
All Spring and Summer Collections now 70% off original prices. Worth New York | Tanger Outlet Center 200 Tanger Mall Drive, Suite 510 | Riverhead, NY 11901 | 631.369.8400 Offer valid 7/03/13 through 7/07/13. Cannot be combined with any other offer or coupon. Cannot be used on previously purchased merchandise. 27233