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The viewer is confronted with a series of geometric shapes derived from rural architecture. Clearly visible are the cylindrical forms of silos and the triangular gable roofs of barns. Complementing the sheer geometry is the pristine surface of the painting and the absence of narrative elements. No humans or animals are even present. The title, Conversation Piece, is a standard phrase used to describe eighteenth-century portraits with several sitters and relates to many similarly labeled paintings by Sheeler that also bear the prefix “con,” meaning in opposition. Here a traditional agricultural complex is rendered in a mechanistic style.
The painting is from late in Sheeler’s career, a period when the artist was exploring the relationship between memory and perception. In an interview conducted in 1959, Sheeler explained his thought process: “I realized that when we look at an object around us and then walk around among other things we should bring them up to a conscious plane. I didn't realize it or think of it in that light for some time, but when we look at the next thing in sequence to the first object that we have gazed at, there's an overtone carried over of what the retina has just recorded. And in my later pictures I make use of that as an element in the final picture.” [1] This interest is evident in Conversation Piece, where the overlapping transparent layers create forms whose solidity is compromised. The layered aesthetic mirrors Sheeler’s artistic process of overlapping photographs onto his panels as the foundation of his compositions. A composite photograph and a tempera painting on which the painting is based were once in the collection of William H. Lane (1914–1995) of Boston. [2]
Notes:
[1] Martin Friedman and Charles Sheeler, “Interview: Charles Sheeler Talks with Martin Friedman,” Archives of American Art Journal 16, no. 4 (1976), 16.
[2] Charles C. Eldredge, Barbara Babcock Millhouse, and Robert G. Workman, American Originals: Selections from Reynolda House Museum of American Art (New York: Abbeville Press, 1990), 120.
ProvenanceDowntown Gallery, New York NY. [1]
c. 1968
Dr. Melvin Boigon (1920-1969) and Mrs. Helen Boigon (1921-2009), New York NY. [2]
1977
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York NY. [3]
From 1977
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem NC, purchased from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, NY on July 29, 1977. [4]
Notes:
[1] Provenance research by Joan Durana, 1983, Object file.
[2] Friedman, Martin. "The Art of Charles Sheeler: Americana in a Vacuum," in Charles Sheeler. Washington, DC: National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968. Also Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index.
[3] Object file, invoice.
[4] See note 3.
Exhibition History1960
American Paintings of the Last 25 Years
City Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis MO (1960)
U.S.I.A. traveling exhibition
1968-1969
Charles Sheeler
National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (10/10/1968-11/24/1968)
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia PA (1/10/1969-2/16/1969)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York NY(3/11/1969-4/27/1969)
Cat. No. 133
1976
The American Experience
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc., New York NY (1976)
Cat. No. 74
1990-1992
American Originals, Selections from Reynolda House Museum of American Art
The American Federation of Arts
Center for the Fine Arts, Miami FL (9/22/1990-11/18/1990)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs CA (12/16/1990-2/10/1991)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (3/6/1991-5/11/1991)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis TN (6/2/1991-7/28/1991)
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth TX (8/17/1991-10/20/1991)
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago (11/17/1991-1/12/1992)
The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (3/1/1992-4/26/1992)
Cat. No. 40
2019
Portraits of the Artists
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (2/1/2019-8/4/2019)
Published ReferencesMillhouse, Barbara B. and Robert Workman. American Originals. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990.
Friedman, Martin. "The Art of Charles Sheeler: Americana in a Vacuum," in Charles Sheeler. Washington, DC: National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 28, 152, 153
DepartmentAmerican Art
Conversation Piece
Artist
Charles Sheeler
(1883 - 1965)
Date1952
Mediumoil on canvas
DimensionsFrame: 25 5/8 x 32 5/8 in. (65.1 x 82.9 cm)
Canvas: 18 x 25 1/4 in. (45.7 x 64.1 cm)
SignedSheeler
52
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
CopyrightCopyright Unknown
Object number1977.2.4
DescriptionConversation Piece is representative of Charles Sheeler’s clean Precisionist style. The flattened industrial architectural forms are layered and transparent in a quasi-Cubist manner. The cool palette of whites and grays is punctuated by a cerulean sky and rich green shrubbery. Although Sheeler used flat angular planes that abstract his subject, the painting remains representational. He maintained this approach throughout his career; it may be rooted in his work as a photographer.The viewer is confronted with a series of geometric shapes derived from rural architecture. Clearly visible are the cylindrical forms of silos and the triangular gable roofs of barns. Complementing the sheer geometry is the pristine surface of the painting and the absence of narrative elements. No humans or animals are even present. The title, Conversation Piece, is a standard phrase used to describe eighteenth-century portraits with several sitters and relates to many similarly labeled paintings by Sheeler that also bear the prefix “con,” meaning in opposition. Here a traditional agricultural complex is rendered in a mechanistic style.
The painting is from late in Sheeler’s career, a period when the artist was exploring the relationship between memory and perception. In an interview conducted in 1959, Sheeler explained his thought process: “I realized that when we look at an object around us and then walk around among other things we should bring them up to a conscious plane. I didn't realize it or think of it in that light for some time, but when we look at the next thing in sequence to the first object that we have gazed at, there's an overtone carried over of what the retina has just recorded. And in my later pictures I make use of that as an element in the final picture.” [1] This interest is evident in Conversation Piece, where the overlapping transparent layers create forms whose solidity is compromised. The layered aesthetic mirrors Sheeler’s artistic process of overlapping photographs onto his panels as the foundation of his compositions. A composite photograph and a tempera painting on which the painting is based were once in the collection of William H. Lane (1914–1995) of Boston. [2]
Notes:
[1] Martin Friedman and Charles Sheeler, “Interview: Charles Sheeler Talks with Martin Friedman,” Archives of American Art Journal 16, no. 4 (1976), 16.
[2] Charles C. Eldredge, Barbara Babcock Millhouse, and Robert G. Workman, American Originals: Selections from Reynolda House Museum of American Art (New York: Abbeville Press, 1990), 120.
ProvenanceDowntown Gallery, New York NY. [1]
c. 1968
Dr. Melvin Boigon (1920-1969) and Mrs. Helen Boigon (1921-2009), New York NY. [2]
1977
Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York NY. [3]
From 1977
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem NC, purchased from Hirschl & Adler Galleries, NY on July 29, 1977. [4]
Notes:
[1] Provenance research by Joan Durana, 1983, Object file.
[2] Friedman, Martin. "The Art of Charles Sheeler: Americana in a Vacuum," in Charles Sheeler. Washington, DC: National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968. Also Ancestry.com, Social Security Death Index.
[3] Object file, invoice.
[4] See note 3.
Exhibition History1960
American Paintings of the Last 25 Years
City Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis MO (1960)
U.S.I.A. traveling exhibition
1968-1969
Charles Sheeler
National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (10/10/1968-11/24/1968)
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia PA (1/10/1969-2/16/1969)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York NY(3/11/1969-4/27/1969)
Cat. No. 133
1976
The American Experience
Hirschl and Adler Galleries, Inc., New York NY (1976)
Cat. No. 74
1990-1992
American Originals, Selections from Reynolda House Museum of American Art
The American Federation of Arts
Center for the Fine Arts, Miami FL (9/22/1990-11/18/1990)
Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs CA (12/16/1990-2/10/1991)
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (3/6/1991-5/11/1991)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis TN (6/2/1991-7/28/1991)
Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth TX (8/17/1991-10/20/1991)
Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago (11/17/1991-1/12/1992)
The Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa, OK (3/1/1992-4/26/1992)
Cat. No. 40
2019
Portraits of the Artists
Reynolda House Museum of American Art (2/1/2019-8/4/2019)
Published ReferencesMillhouse, Barbara B. and Robert Workman. American Originals. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 1990.
Friedman, Martin. "The Art of Charles Sheeler: Americana in a Vacuum," in Charles Sheeler. Washington, DC: National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1968.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 28, 152, 153
Status
On viewCollections