Sandy and Her Husband | Cleveland Museum of Art

Sandy and Her Husband

1973

Emma Amos

(American, 1937–2020)

112.4 x 127.6 cm (44 1/4 x 50 1/4 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 2018.24

© Emma Amos / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Did You Know?

The image of the young woman behind the couple is a self-portrait of Amos titled Flower Sniffer (1966), in the collection of the Brooklyn Museum.

Description

In Sandy and Her Husband, the dancing couple at the center of the image is joined by Amos herself: the artist inserted herself into the picture by rendering an earlier self-portrait, Flower Sniffer (1966), which hangs on the wall behind the couple. However, even as Amos is part of the composition, she is peripheral to the scene, unseen or ignored by the dancers. From the early 1960s until her death in 2020, Amos made paintings, prints, and textiles celebrating African American identity and culture, and often exploring women’s presence within that heritage.

Sandy and Her Husband

Sandy and Her Husband

1973

Emma Amos

(American, 1937–2020)

America

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