Brush’s Shadow
Modern and Contemporary Art

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Brush’s Shadow
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Elizabeth Murray
American, 1940–2007
American, 1940–2007
Date
1981
Medium
Oil on canvas
Accession #
1981.54
Dimensions
Please contact the Museum for more information.
Location
Currently Not on View
Description
Through the combination of autobiographical references and allusions to everyday life in her work, Elizabeth Murray expanded the boundaries of large-scale abstract painting. In fact, Brush’s Shadow is a kind of self-portrait, composed of vaguely recognizable forms that are usually derived from objects such as tables, shoes, and coffee cups. The central green shape represents a brush (“the tool I use to communicate with”); the shape behind it (the “brush’s shadow”) is a figure, a substitute for the artist herself.
Credit
Gift of Frances Floyd CockeImage Copyright
© Elizabeth Murray