Tom Wesselmann

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Wesselmann, Tom (1931–2004). American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, born in Cincinnati. He studied psychology at the University of Cincinnati, 1951–2 and 1954–6, and during the latter period also took classes at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. From 1956 to 1959 he continued his studies in art at the Cooper Union, New York. Originally he had intended becoming a cartoonist, but he turned to painting. In 1961 he had the first of many one-man exhibitions (at the Tanager Gallery, New York) and soon afterwards he emerged as one of the leading figures in American Pop art. He often incorporates elements of collage or assemblage in his work, using household objects such as television sets and sometimes including sound effects. His subjects are characteristically aggressively sexual and he is best known for his continuing series Great American Nude (begun 1961), in which the nude becomes a depersonalized sex symbol set in a realistically depicted commonplace environment. He emphasizes the woman's nipples, mouth, and genitals, with the rest of the body depicted in flat, unmodulated colour. In other works he isolates parts of the body still further, as in his Smoker series, in which the mouth—often depicted on a huge scale—becomes a provocatively erotic symbol. In the 1980s he began making massive ‘drawings’ cut from sheets of aluminium or steel. He has also made prints in a variety of techniques.

Wesselmann, Tom (b Cincinnati, Oh., 23 Feb. 1931; d 17 Dec. 2004). American painter, one of the best-known exponents of Pop art. He often incorporates elements of collage or assemblage in his work, using household objects such as television sets and sometimes including sound effects. Typically his subjects are aggressively sexual and he is best known for his continuing series Great American Nude (began 1961), in which the nude becomes a depersonalized sex symbol set in a realistically depicted everyday environment. He emphasizes the woman's nipples, mouth, and genitals, with the rest of the body depicted in flat, unmodulated colour. In other works he isolates parts of the body still further, as in his Smoker series, in which the mouth—often depicted on a huge scale—becomes a provocatively erotic symbol. In the 1980s he began making massive ‘drawings’ cut from sheets of aluminium or steel. He has also made prints in a variety of techniques.

Wesselmann, Tom (1931–2004). American painter, one of the best-known exponents of Pop art. He often incorporates elements of collage or assemblage in his work, using household objects such as television sets and sometimes including sound effects. Typically his subjects are aggressively sexual and he is best known for his continuing series Great American Nude (began 1961), in which the nude becomes a depersonalized sex symbol set in a realistically depicted commonplace environment. He emphasizes the woman's nipples, mouth, and genitals, with the rest of the body depicted in flat, unmodulated colour. In other works he isolates parts of the body still further, as in his Smoker series, in which the mouth—often depicted on a huge scale—becomes a provocatively erotic symbol. In the 1980s he began making massive ‘drawings’ cut from sheets of aluminium or steel. He has also made prints in a variety of techniques.