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White Nurse

A work made of oil pastel and colored crayons, and fiber-tipped and ball point pens, with graphite, on ivory wood pulp board.

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  • A work made of oil pastel and colored crayons, and fiber-tipped and ball point pens, with graphite, on ivory wood pulp board.

Date:

1965

Artist:

Peter Saul
American, born 1934

About this artwork

White Nurse provides a psychedelic road map to political conflict in the 1960s. At the center of the work, a dripping splash of red punctuates an image representing America’s perception of communism’s encroachment. Above it, the titular white nurse—a casualty of the nation’s military-industrial complex—is crucified by high-ranking officers from America and elsewhere in the name of money and religion. Peter Saul used grotesque and exaggerated caricatures to emphasize his distaste for the violence of the Vietnam War, the intensity of Cold War propaganda, and the rapid growth of militarized society.

Status

On View, Gallery 289

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Peter Saul

Title

White Nurse

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.

1965

Medium

Oil pastel and colored crayons, and fiber-tipped and ball point pens, with graphite, on ivory wood pulp board

Dimensions

137.4 × 102 cm (54 1/8 × 40 3/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Mrs. Lewis Manilow

Reference Number

1969.8

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.

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