Skip to Content
Today Open today 10–11 members | 11–8 public

One Thing Leads to Another

A work made of collage and acrylic on canvas.
© The Estate of Ralph Arnold.

Image actions

  • A work made of collage and acrylic on canvas.

Date:

1968

Artist:

Ralph Arnold
American, 1928–2006

About this artwork

A Chicago native, Ralph Arnold is known for his collaged, often abstract images drawn from the materials of popular and consumer culture. In this work, Arnold juxtaposed scenes from the turbulent 1960s against a color palette evoking the American flag; stenciled letters suggest a framework for reading images of the Great Migration, a Jim Crow sign, violence against African American youth, war protests, Mayor Richard J. Daley, and the Statue of Liberty. Following the work’s title, a causal equation can be pieced together: the combination of civil rights inequities, death tolls in Vietnam, and politics resulted in the 1968 Democratic Convention demonstrations and “law-and-order” police forces.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Contemporary Art

Artist

Ralph Arnold

Title

One Thing Leads to Another

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1968

Medium

Collage and acrylic on canvas

Inscriptions

Inscribed, verso, upper left, in black paint: "Collage + Acrylic / "One Thin Leads to Another" 1968 / Ralph Arnold"

Dimensions

152.4 × 152.4 cm (60 × 60 in.)

Credit Line

Photography and Media Purchase Fund

Reference Number

2011.131

Copyright

© The Estate of Ralph Arnold.

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

Share

Sign up for our enewsletter to receive updates.

Learn more

Image actions

Share