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Wrigley's

A work made of oil on canvas.

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1937

Artist:

Charles Green Shaw (American, 1892–1974)

About this artwork

In Wrigley’s, Charles Green Shaw depicted a package of spearmint gum against a series of rectangular forms that suggests the Lower Manhattan skyline; the levitating, rotating rectangle of the gum echoes the blocky, static shapes of the vertical skyscrapers. Shaw, an early advocate of nonobjective art in the United States, painted Wrigley’s as a speculative advertising pitch pairing abstraction with commercial art. Although an advertising poster was never produced, the witty juxtapositions of Shaw’s design align Wrigley’s gum with the breathtaking modernity of skyscrapers and the excitement of urban life.

Status

On View, Gallery 262

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Charles Green Shaw

Title

Wrigley's

Place

New York City (Object made in)

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.

1937

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed l.r.: Shaw

Dimensions

76.2 × 114.3 cm (30 × 45 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by the Alsdorf Foundation

Reference Number

1978.417

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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