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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

A wealthy New York artist known as one of the “Park Avenue Cubists,” Charles Green Shaw painted Wrigley’s as an advertising pitch to the company, combining abstraction with commercial art. He placed a package of spearmint gum against a series of rectangular forms that resembles the lower Manhattan skyline. Shaw echoed and contrasted the blocky, static shapes of the vertical skyscrapers with the levitating, rotating rectangle of the featured product. Although the advertising firm declined to produce this design, the witty juxtapositions of Shaw’s composition align Wrigley’s gum with the streamlined, modern skyscrapers and the pulse of urban life.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Charles Green Shaw

Title

Wrigley's

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.

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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