Big Daddy with Hats
Artist
May Stevens
(American, 1924 - 2019)
Date1971
Mediumsilkscreen
DimensionsImage: 22 × 21 in. (55.9 × 53.3 cm)
Support: 23 × 22 in. (58.4 × 55.9 cm)
Mat: 30 × 30 in. (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
Support: 23 × 22 in. (58.4 × 55.9 cm)
Mat: 30 × 30 in. (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
ClassificationsGraphic
Credit LineGift of RYAN LEE Gallery in honor of Stevens' friendship with Lucy Lippard and gift of the May Stevens and Rudolf Baranik Foundation, 2020
Object number2020.28.4
DescriptionA bald central figure is seated with a dog on his lap and is surrounded by a blue background and various hats and hoods with tabs attached. The bull dog is wearing a shirt reminiscent of the American flag.eMuseum Notes
Big Daddy with Hats, is a silk screen that features the “big daddy” imagery that the artist used in her work from 1967 – 1976. The shirtless bald man with a bull dog on his lap comes from a photo of the artist’s father and was also used in an earlier painting The Family, from 1967. This figure is surrounded by a blue field and the dog on his lap wears a shirt reminiscent of the American flag. Various hats that designate affiliations ranging from law enforcement to the KKK fill the area around the figure. These are reflective of the division in the USA at that time over the Vietnam War. The various hats and hoods have tabs attached to them suggesting the interchangeable outfits of paper dolls.
On View
Not on view
