On View
On viewObject number1996/7.5
The Sense of Smell
Artist
Jack Beal
(American, 1931-2013)
Date1987
Mediumoil on canvas
Dimensionsframe: 5 ft. 8 in. × 50 1/2 in. × 2 3/8 in. (172.7 × 128.3 × 6 cm)
canvas: 5 ft. 5 3/4 in. × 48 in. (167 × 121.9 cm)
canvas: 5 ft. 5 3/4 in. × 48 in. (167 × 121.9 cm)
Credit LineBlanche Hull Fund
Exhibition History"Shattering the Southern Stereotype: Jack Beal, Nell Blaine, Dorothy Gillespie, Sally Mann, and Cy Twombly, An Exhibition Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts," Longwood Center for Visual Arts (Mar. 21 - May 9, 1998).
"The Figure Revealed: Contemporary American Figurative Paintings and Drawings,"KIA (May 3 - June 29, 2008).
"Flowers in Art: Selections from the Collection," KIA Long Gallery (May 29 - Sept. 12, 2010).
"Legendary Voices: Art for the Next Century," KIA (September 7 - February 18, 2025)Label TextJack Beal's tight, controlled handling of paint creates a "true-to-life" or representational painting that follows in a long tradition of American realism. After the decades dominated by the Abstract Expressionist, Pop Art, and Minimalist styles, representational painting resurfaced with renewed vigor in the 1980s.
This work is one of a series exploring the four senses. Beal invites us into a warmly lit interior space where the air is seemingly thick with perfume. A young woman sniffs a large flower, a Night-Blooming Cereus, also known as "Queen of the Night." The artist accurately portrays the flower, which needs bright interior light and only blooms for a few hours between 8 p.m. and midnight in the summer. It is a magical, sensual experience that is expertly captured by Beal in paint.
