Swing-Boats
Swing-Boats captures the velocity and dynamism that Flight and the Grosvenor School artists found in Futurism and sought to portray in their depictions of interwar modern life. Here, Flight captures the joy and exuberance of flying in a funfair ride using rhythmic curves, dynamic lines, and repeated geometric forms and patterns. A large swath of visible paper and the jagged reddish-brown of the vessel indicate its extraordinary speed, suggesting an ability to launch into the sky and defy earthly restrictions. Concentric lines reinforce the impression of movement. In the upper corner, riders are reduced to circular forms representing abstracted heads, torsos, arms, and other body parts. Their boat continues beyond the edge of the composition, a testament to the powerful momentum of the ride.
Artwork Details
- Title: Swing-Boats
- Artist: Claude Flight (British, 1881–1955)
- Date: 1921
- Medium: Color linoleum cut on Japanese paper
- Dimensions: Image: 8 1/2 × 11 1/8 in. (21.6 × 28.3 cm)
Sheet: 9 11/16 × 12 5/16 in. (24.6 × 31.3 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Purchase, Leslie and Johanna Garfield Gift, Lila Acheson Wallace, Charles and Jessie Price, and David T Schiff Gifts, The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, Dolores Valvidia Hurlburt Bequest, PECO Foundation and Friends of Drawings and Prints Gifts, and funds from various donors, 2019
- Object Number: 2019.592.105
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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Claude Flight
ca. 1922
Claude Flight
ca. 1926
Claude Flight
1935–55
Claude Flight
1930s
Claude Flight
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