''Three Flags'' is a painting by American artist

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, draftsman, and printmaker. Considered a central figure in the development of American postwar art, he has been variously associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and ...

, from 1958. Held in the permanent collection of the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

since 1980, ''Three Flags'' has been described as a "landmark of

20th-century art Twentieth-century art—and what it became as modern art—began with modernism in the late nineteenth century. Overview Nineteenth-century movements of Post-Impressionism (), Art Nouveau and Symbolism led to the first twentieth-century art mov ...

History and description

The work comprises three canvases painted with hot wax. The three canvases form a tiered arrangement, with each canvas approximately 25% smaller than the one below, thereby creating a three-dimensional work. Each canvas is painted to resemble the version of the United States flag that was in use at the time the work was painted, with 48 white stars in a blue canton on a field of thirteen alternating red and white stripes. Each flag is rendered with the approximately correct colors and proportions, as defined by Title 4 of the United States Code. In a sense, the perspective is reversed, with the smaller paintings projecting out towards the viewer. Only the topmost smallest painting is fully visible; the two behind are only partially visible.

Provenance

The painting was acquired by the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

for $1 million in 1980 from art collectors Burton and Emily Hall Tremaine, to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Since the early 1960s, ''Three Flags'' has been included in numerous exhibitions, and different kinds of books and magazine articles focused on art and American history.(March 15, 2019)
Jasper Johns. ''Three flags'', (1958)
''artdesigncafe''. Retrieved February 2, 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Flags Flags of the United States Paintings by Jasper Johns 1958 paintings Paintings in the Whitney Museum of American Art Flags in art