George Deem (1932–2008)
Date1964
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions35 × 46 in. (88.9 × 116.8 cm)
InscriptionInscribed on reverse: Cancellation; George Deem / May 1964 / 35 x 46″ / “Cancelled Envelope (Raeburn)”
Credit LineAthenaeum purchase, 2016
Object NumberUR366
George Deem (1932–2008)
Date1971
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions15 × 15 3/4 in. (38.1 × 40 cm)
InscriptionInscribed lower left: G. Deem; Inscribed on reverse: Quotations / “Drawings and Paintings / By George Deem” / April, 1971 Italy / George Deem / 40 x 38 cm / 16 x 15 inches
Credit LineGift of the Estate of George Deem, 2014
Object NumberUR349
George Deem (1932–2008)
Date2003
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOther: 137.2 x 106.7 cm (54 x 42 in.)
DescriptionGeorge Deem was born in Indiana, trained at the Art Institute of Chicago, and lived for over forty years in New York City. He was fascinated with the methods and compositions of the Old Masters, especially Jan Vermeer, as clearly seen in this painting. The objects depicted here are taken from Vermeer’s famous The Artist in His Studio (The Art of Painting) from 1666–1667. But Deem has eliminated Vermeer’s figures—the artist and his model—in order to concentrate on the basic elements of art-making: form, composition, atmosphere, and light.
Gift of the Estate of George Deem, 2012
Object NumberUR342
George Deem (1932–2008)
Date1972
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions23 5/8 x 19 5/8 in. (60 x 49.8 cm)
DescriptionAlthough the American artist George Deem was living in Italy when he executed this painting, his source for it could not be more American: Gilbert Stuart’s 1796 portrait of the first president, which, due to its having been owned by the Boston Athenæum for over 150 years, is known as The Athenæum Portrait. (The painting is now jointly owned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.) Here, Deem ponders art’s relationship to reality by painting Washington-the-man posing in front of Washington-the-portrait. “I followed Stuart’s painting application and color for the ‘portrait’ in my painting,” Deem explained, “But when painting the foreground image, I dulled Stuart’s color, using a gray glaze to produce the appearance of a photographic studio portrait.” [David B. Dearinger, 2013]
Gift of the Estate of George Deem, 2011
Object NumberUR333
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