The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 13, 2024

Warhead I (Reagan 55%, Brezhnev 45%, Thatcher less than 1%, Mitterand less than 1%, Deng less than 1%)

Warhead I (Reagan 55%, Brezhnev 45%, Thatcher less than 1%, Mitterand less than 1%, Deng less than 1%)

1982, printed 1999
(American, b. 1948)
America, 20th century
gelatin silver print
Image: 19.1 x 18.9 cm (7 1/2 x 7 7/16 in.); Framed: 46.3 x 46.5 cm (18 1/4 x 18 5/16 in.)
The Jane B. Tripp Charitable Lead Annuity Trust 2020.74
© Nancy Burson
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

In 1980, it was estimated that there were 40,000 nuclear warheads (the front parts of guided missiles or torpedoes that are carrying a nuclear charge).

Description

This image puts a human face—one composited from the leaders of the nuclear powers at the time—on the threat in the early 1980s of nuclear warfare. Ronald Reagan and Leonid Brezhnev’s faces dominate because the dominance of each leader was “weighted by the number of nuclear warheads deployable by each country.”
  • 1999
    Studio of the Artist
    2000
    (Jan Kesner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA)
    2000-2020
    John J. McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH
    March 2, 2020
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Burson, Nancy, Richard Carling, and David Kramlich. Composites: Computer-Generated Portraits. New York: Beech Tree Books, 1986.
    Burson, Nancy, Michael L. Sand, Lynn Gumpert, Terrie Sultan, and Christopher C. French. Seeing and Believing: The Art of Nancy Burson. Santa Fe, N.M.: Twin Palms, 2002.
  • {{cite web|title=Warhead I (Reagan 55%, Brezhnev 45%, Thatcher less than 1%, Mitterand less than 1%, Deng less than 1%)|url=false|author=Nancy Burson|year=1982, printed 1999|access-date=13 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.74