Images(7)

Summer Solstice Spitfires

Object NamePanel

Series

Spitfires; Edition E contains 4 color glass Spitfires

Edition

E-2 12/70

Artist Brian Clarke (British, b. 1953)

Manufacturer(glass) Franz Mayer Inc.

Made FromGlass, Adhesive

Date2016

Place MadeEngland, London; Germany, Munich (glass fabrication)

TechniqueStained glass

SizeOverall H: 80 cm, W: 80 cm, D: 2.5 cm; Frame H: 84 cm, W: 84 cm

Accession Number2017.2.5

Credit LineGift of the artist in memory of David Whitehouse

Curatorial Area(s)

Postwar and Contemporary

Exhibitions

Summer Solstice Spitfires

Not On View

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

One of the most famous airplanes of World War II, the British-developed Spitfire was a symbol of British victory. But the group of Spitfires on this stained glass panel might leave you feeling more curious than victorious. You can see this scene in one of two ways: either looking down at the planes from a vantage point high above the clouds, or looking up from the ground through a cloud of smoke at the planes flying overhead.

Physical DescriptionPanel. "Summer Solstice Spitfires" edition E-2 12/70. Black, red, pale yellow, and orange glasses, mottled gray and yellow matrix, adhesive. Roughly oval-shaped matrix of mottled gray and yellow with a feathered edge applied to the back of a square black glass panel. Within the matrix, thirteen full and three partial airplanes are situated in a grid of five rows; each plane is positioned with its nose towards the upper right corner of the panel. The airplanes are uniform in shape and solid black, save for two that are solid red, one that is solid orange, and one that is pale yellow with an orange tail. The latter four airplanes receive their coloration from airplane-shaped transparent glass cutouts adhered to the back of the panel.
Provenance

Source Brian Clarke (British, b. 1953) - 2016-2017-10-05