Raggedy Ann and Andy on the Shelf

Elizabeth Layton, artist

1909–1993

Raggedy Ann and Andy on the Shelf, 1979

Where object was made: Kansas, United States

Material/technique: paper; colored pencil

Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 56 x 71.2 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 22 1/16 x 28 1/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 30 x 36 in

Credit line: Gift of the Lawrence Arts Center

Accession number: 2014.0716

Not on display

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In Raggedy Ann and Andy, Layton depicts herself and her husband in the guise of the eponymous ragdolls that were popular in the early 19th century. Although framed by a cheerful rainbow, the surrounding imagery is less optimistic: a commode and wiry hospital beds line the bottom of the image, while the grid of curved lines disappearing on the horizon simultaneously suggests endless hallways and the cobwebs of forgotten spaces. Layton commented that the dolls’ position on a glass shelf in front of a glass window symbolized the lack of privacy in nursing homes, hospitals, and other institutions that care for the ill and elderly.