Sewer

Benny Andrews, artist

1930–2006

Sewer, 1970

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: cloth; canvas board; oil; mixed media

Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 29.2 x 21.6 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 11 1/2 x 8 1/2 in

Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harris J. Klein

Accession number: 1972.0005

Not on display

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Finding the traditional practice of oil painting too academic, Benny Andrews began incorporating scraps of recycled cloth in his paintings beginning in the late 1950s. These scraps became the foundation for a series of expressive collages created throughout the artist’s lifetime that include paper, cut fabric, and oil paint. Although Andrews is best known for his politically active works that depict contemporary accounts of civil rights and antiwar movements, his 1970 collage Sewer depicts a quieter and more intimate scene. Material and subject merge as the young sitter tends to her cloth creation.