Jasper Johns
Device
1961
Scroll
Jasper Johns
Device
1961
Physical Qualities
Oil on canvas with wood, yardsticks, fabric batting, nails, screws, and wing nuts, 40 x 30 x 2 3/4 in. (101.6 x 76.2 x 7 cm.)
Credit Line
Purchase with funds provided by The Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Trustee Corporation Fund, and by Edith Ferry Hooper
Object Number
1976.1
Between 1959 and 1962, Jasper Johns produced a series of Device paintings by utilizing a wooden slat or ruler to scrape the wet surface of the canvas and form semi-circular shapes. Johns then affixed this mark-making “device” to the painting itself. Here, Johns’ symmetrical arrangement of paint-stained rulers and a piece of wood acknowledges the active relationship between the artist, his tools, and the final work, even evoking the gesture of sweeping arms. In addition, the artist has stenciled the words “gray” and “device” onto the work’s surfaces, prompting comparisons of the ways in which verbal and visual signs allow us to communicate. By emphasizing the manner in which he produced the painterly marks on this work, as well as literally naming its important properties, Johns signals a very deliberate approach to constructing a painting.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase 1976; Gallery Sonnabend November 15, 1962; Leo Castelli Gallery October 23, 1962; the artist
Ileana Sonnabend, Galerie Ileana Sonnabend (37 Quai des Grands Augustins), Paris, "Jasper Johns," November 15–December 31, 1962.
Alan R. Solomon, The Jewish Museum, New York, "Jasper Johns," 1964, no. 72.
Louisiana Museum, Denmark, "Jasper Johns Retrospective," 1964.
Museo Contemporanea, Rome, "Jasper Johns," 1974.
Nan Rosenthal and Ruth E. Fine, National Gallery of Art, Washington, "The Drawings of Jasper Johns," May–July 1990, pp. 174–175, ill. p. 175.
Christos Joachimides and Norman Rosenthal, eds., Royal Academy of the Arts, London & Zeitgeist Gesellschaft, Berlin, "American Art in the Twentieth Century," May 8–July 25, 1993; London, September 17–December 12, 1993, p. 482, cat. no. 148, ill.
MOMA, New York, "Jasper Johns," October 16, 1996–January 21, 1997; circulated to Museum Ludwig, Cologne, March 7–June 1, 1997; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, June 28–August 17, 1997; and Foundation Beyeler, Basel, to February 1998, cat. no. 88.
National Gallery, "Jasper Johns: An Allegory in Painting," January 28–April 29, 2007; circulated to Kunstmuseum Basel, June 2–September 9, 2007.
Art Institute of Chicago, "Jasper Johns: Survey in Gray," November 3, 2007–January 6, 2008 and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, February 5–May 4, 2008 [Met only].
Anne Temkin and Claire Lehmann, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, "Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New," December 11, 2013–April 21, 2014, exh. cat. pp. 26, 28, ill. p. 27.
Royal Academy of Arts, "Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth," September 1, 2017–June 1, 2018.
Christopher Bedford and Katy Siegel, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Every Day: Selections from the Collection," July 14, 2019–January 5, 2020.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Jasper Johns: Mind/Miro," September 29, 2021–February 13, 2022.
The Jewish Museum, "Revisiting New York: 1962–1964," June 2022–February 2023.
Alan R. Solomon, The Jewish Museum, New York, "Jasper Johns," 1964, no. 72.
Louisiana Museum, Denmark, "Jasper Johns Retrospective," 1964.
Museo Contemporanea, Rome, "Jasper Johns," 1974.
Nan Rosenthal and Ruth E. Fine, National Gallery of Art, Washington, "The Drawings of Jasper Johns," May–July 1990, pp. 174–175, ill. p. 175.
Christos Joachimides and Norman Rosenthal, eds., Royal Academy of the Arts, London & Zeitgeist Gesellschaft, Berlin, "American Art in the Twentieth Century," May 8–July 25, 1993; London, September 17–December 12, 1993, p. 482, cat. no. 148, ill.
MOMA, New York, "Jasper Johns," October 16, 1996–January 21, 1997; circulated to Museum Ludwig, Cologne, March 7–June 1, 1997; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, June 28–August 17, 1997; and Foundation Beyeler, Basel, to February 1998, cat. no. 88.
National Gallery, "Jasper Johns: An Allegory in Painting," January 28–April 29, 2007; circulated to Kunstmuseum Basel, June 2–September 9, 2007.
Art Institute of Chicago, "Jasper Johns: Survey in Gray," November 3, 2007–January 6, 2008 and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, February 5–May 4, 2008 [Met only].
Anne Temkin and Claire Lehmann, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, "Ileana Sonnabend: Ambassador for the New," December 11, 2013–April 21, 2014, exh. cat. pp. 26, 28, ill. p. 27.
Royal Academy of Arts, "Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth," September 1, 2017–June 1, 2018.
Christopher Bedford and Katy Siegel, The Baltimore Museum of Art, "Every Day: Selections from the Collection," July 14, 2019–January 5, 2020.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art, "Jasper Johns: Mind/Miro," September 29, 2021–February 13, 2022.
The Jewish Museum, "Revisiting New York: 1962–1964," June 2022–February 2023.
Alan R. Solomon, 'Jasper Johns,' New York: The Jewish Museum, 1964, no. 72.
Max Kozloff, 'Jasper Johns,' New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1967, ill. pl. 68.
Brenda Richardson, Diamond of the Month, April 1989, The Baltimore Museum of Art, ill.
Dennis Szakacs, Michael Darling, Jeffrey Weiss, John C. Welchman, Hans Ulrich Obrist, "Richard Jackson: Ain't Painting A Pain," Newport Beach, CA, Orange County Museum of Art, 2013, ill. p. 121, fig. 6.
Holland Cotter, "A Legendary Dealer's Eagle Eye," "New York Times," December 20, 2013, p. 23 and p. 27.
Jennifer L. Roberts, "Transporting Visions: The Movement of Images in Early America," Berley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2014, p. 79, ill. p. 102.
David Joselit, "No Exit: Video and the Readymade," "Nam June Paik: Becoming Robot," 2014, pp. 47-55, ill. pp. 49.
Baltimore Museum of Art. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Celebrating a Museum. Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 2014.
Bernstein, Roberta, ed. Jasper Johns. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2017. ill. pp. 158.
Inscribed: Recto: LRQ: DEVICE; TCtr: gray Verso: URQ: DEVICE / J. JOHNS / '62; UL: 3 stamps unreadable; LCtr: small stamp unreadable; URQ: stamp unreadable
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