Big Oval
In 1980, Dickson and her husband, artist Charlie Ahearn (born 1951), moved into a loft near New York’s then seedy but glittering Times Square, where she had found work two years earlier programming the first Spectacolor billboard. Attracted to the neighborhood’s brilliant nighttime signage, she began working with oil stick against deep black grounds to evoke the gleam of the nocturnal scenes she witnessed. Traveling to Florida in the mid-1980s, Dickson happened one night upon a carnival filled with amusement rides. She eventually worked up this large composition from pictures and sketches, painting the rollercoaster’s arc of blazing lights stretching up into the night.
Artwork Details
- Title: Big Oval
- Artist: Jane Dickson (American, born Chicago, Illinois, 1952)
- Date: 1985
- Medium: Oilstick on canvas
- Dimensions: 9 ft. 2 in. × 68 in. (279.4 × 172.7 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1986
- Object Number: 1986.217
- Rights and Reproduction: © Jane Dickson
- Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Multiple artists/makers
1991
Georgia O'Keeffe
1927
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
1924
Edward Hopper
1930
Charles Sheeler
1931
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.