Skip to main content
Washington University in St. Louis
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts

Create an account to add artworks to your personal collections.

Enter your email address below to recieve an email to reset your password.

An email has been sent to your inbox to reset your password.

image alt

Tom Wesselmann

Bedroom Painting #2

1968

image alt
1 / 1

The American Pop artist Tom Wesselmann is known for his many depictions of the female nude, in paintings, collages, and assemblages. In this painting the artist severely fragmented the female form, representing only an open mouth with red lipstick and a bare breast, which he joined together with everyday objects. Slyly combining references to various art-historical tropes (the reclining female nude, the still life), Wesselmann infuses them with the patina of consumer culture. The body parts are rendered as if they were material goods equivalent—in size and treatment—to the cigarette, orange, and rose. With the inclusion of visible suntan lines, the figure reads as naked (pornographic) rather than nude (art historical). This hyper-sexualized coding of the female body as well as the work’s overall scale and cool aesthetic directly recall the commercial techniques of billboard advertisements, which often equate lust with the commodity. Wesselmann’s painting can be understood as an ambiguous commentary, neither overtly critical nor celebratory, of the larger social context of postwar America in which notions of individuality were increasingly shaped by mass consumer culture. [Permanent Collection Label, 2022]

  • Artist Tom Wesselmann (American, 1931–2004)
  • Title Bedroom Painting #2
  • Date 1968
  • Medium Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions unframed | 48 1/2 x 83 1/2 x 2 5/8 in.
  • Credit line University purchase, Bixby Fund, 1968
  • Object number WU 4382

Ambivalent Pleasures: Advertiser Content in American Art
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 08/29/2022 - 01/02/2023

Urban Visions, Curated by WUGA Student Gallery Group
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 05/05/1999 - 05/14/1999

Capsule of Modern Art
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 01/09/1983 - 03/06/1983

Summer Selections
Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, 05/24/1979 - 08/31/1979

1968
Sidney Janis Gallery, New York

Inscription Recto, upper right, in orange paint: Wesselmann 68

Inscription Verso, on stretcher, at center: BEDROOM PAINTING #2, 43 1/2 X 83 1/2 / Wesselmann 1968, OIL ON CANVAS, WINSOR NEWTON HERGALINEN 9RAW0 / GROUND IS LIQUITEX GESSO, OIL PAINT MEDIUM IS LINSEED OIL, STAND OIL, TURP.

This artwork record may be incomplete or need refinement. Our staff actively researches the collection and revises records when new information is available. If you have questions or comments about this record, please contact us.

Related Content

go to Consumerism and Commodity Culture page
2003_0014.tif
Theme

Consumerism and Commodity Culture

go to Gender and Sexuality page
2022_0007_0001_0009.jpg
Theme

Gender and Sexuality

go to Capsule of Modern Art page
no image
Exhibitions

Capsule of Modern Art

January 09, 1983 - March 06, 1983
go to Summer Selections page
no image
Exhibitions

Summer Selections

May 24, 1979 - August 31, 1979
go to Urban Visions, Curated by WUGA Student Gallery Group page
no image
Exhibitions

Urban Visions, Curated by WUGA Student Gallery Group

May 05, 1999 - May 14, 1999
go to Ambivalent Pleasures: Advertiser Content in American Art page
A view of a gallery with colorful artworks hung on the walls.
Exhibitions

Ambivalent Pleasures: Advertiser Content in American Art

August 29, 2022 - January 02, 2023

Image Reproduction Request Form

To request image materials and/or permission to reproduce a work of art from the Museum's collection, please complete and submit the form below. The information you provide here will enable us to process your request and assess the appropriate images, permissions, and any applicable fees. 

Typically, image requests that do not require new photography can be completed within three weeks. Whenever possible, rush orders may be accommodated, although additional fees may apply.

If you have questions, please contact Kristin Good, associate registrar, at kristin.good@wustl.edu.

Checking this box constitutes a legal signature. By checking this box, the applicant agrees to abide by all terms and conditions under which permission is granted to reproduce works of art in the collection of the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, and that permission is contingent upon payment of any applicable fees.

* Required fields

test View details