{"data":{"id":"8024","type":"artwork","attributes":{"id":8024,"topgoose_id":18308,"portfolio_id":null,"tms_id":8024,"title":"Big Bill","display_artist_text":"Mary Heilmann","display_date":"1987","accession_number":"92.26","dimensions":"Overall: 43 3/16 × 40 1/8 in. (109.7 × 101.9 cm)","medium":"Acrylic and opaque watercolor on canvas","department":"collection","classification":"Paintings","credit_line":"Gift of Evelyn Meyers","is_virtual":false,"is_portfolio":false,"portfolio_tms_id":null,"portfolio":null,"edition":null,"publication_info":"","description":"\u003cp\u003eMary Heilmann, \u003cem\u003eBig Bill\u003c/em\u003e, 1987. Acrylic and opaque watercolor on canvas, overall: 43 3/16 × 40 1/8 in. (109.7 × 101.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Evelyn Meyers 92.26. © Mary Heilmann\u003c/p\u003e","object_label":"\u003cp\u003eMary Heilmann’s paintings often incorporate the grid and geometric forms, using techniques derived from her study of ceramics, such as the application of paint in thick, dripping strokes. \u003ci\u003eBig Bill\u003c/i\u003e, created with an unusual combination of tempera and synthetic polymer, reveals Heilmann’s engagement with the way paint lies on the surface, with the speed and fluency possible with varying brushwork, and with the emotional resonance of color. Heilmann thinks like an object-maker: \"When I make a painting, I’m like a kid stacking blocks; I push the shapes around in my mind. . .I was a potter first, and that’s an activity that also depends on geometry.\" \u003ci\u003eBig Bill\u003c/i\u003e also explores the psychological effects of slightly skewing geometric forms, of keeping them just fractionally off-balance.\u003c/p\u003e","ai_alt_text":"A large white stepped shape sits centered against deep blue rectangular bands with vertical paint drips.","alt_text":null,"visual_description":null,"on_view":false,"created_at":"2017-08-31T10:21:35.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-02-06T12:01:28.630-05:00","images":[{"id":99330,"url":"https://whitneymedia.org/assets/artwork/8024/92_26_cropped.jpg"}]},"relationships":{"artists":{"data":[{"id":"3559","type":"artist"}]}}}}