Description
Like modern-day bulletin boards, card racks were used to gather newspaper clippings, scraps of paper, and other ephemera in one place. Although it is unclear if the items seen here carry symbolic meaning, they nevertheless demonstrate the human desire to collect and recollect. Their tattered state and frayed edges further evoke a sense of memory and nostalgia. The illusionistic quality of Peto’s pictures makes the objects appear to exist in real space. Even the cigarette butt perched at the bottom looks ready to be plucked from the painting’s frame.
Provenance
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (1973-); (Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (1972-1973); Alice Kaplan [1903-1995], New York, NY1 (Probably 1965-1972); (Kennedy Galleries, New York, NY, probably sold to Alice Kaplan) (By 1965); Howard Keyser III [1904-1980], Island Heights, NJ and Philadelphia, PA, consigned to the Kennedy Galleries 1 (By 1947 - by 1965)
Accession Number
1973.30
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 95.9 x 83.2 x 4.4 cm (37 3/4 x 32 3/4 x 1 3/4 in.); Unframed: 76.2 x 63.5 cm (30 x 25 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund