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Jim Dine

American, born 1935

© 2010 Jim Dine / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Child’s Blue Wall, 1962

Oil on canvas, wood, metal, and light bulb
60 x 72 inches (152.4 x 182.9 cm)
Gift of Seymour H. Knox, Jr., 1963

Jim Dine's love of physical objects came from working in his father's and grandfather's hardware stores in Cincinnati and Covington, Ohio. He received an art degree in 1957 from Ohio University, then, in 1959, traveled to New York where, along with other avant-garde artists, he participated in some of the early "happenings." "Happenings" were spontaneous theatrical and artistic performances/experiences that often encouraged audience participation.

In 1960, Dine returned to painting, but maintained a theatrical quality in his work by incorporating actual objects. Although he is often associated with Pop art, most Pop artists of the time tended to include commercial objects with minimal expression or emotion. Dine’s tendency, however, is to present more personal objects in order to elicit emotion. Child’s Blue Wall is considered among Dine's most successful and poignant works from his series about children’s rooms and bathrooms.

Related Lesson Plan

Blue Sky, Blue Wall (For Grades 3–5)

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