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John Wesley — Priscilla the Hun
John Wesley

Priscilla the Hun

1971

John Wesley's 1971 screenprint, Priscilla the Hun, presents a captivating tableau, characteristic of the artist's distinctive Pop Art sensibility. The composition features a large, close-up depiction of a baby, rendered with striking blue eyes and a subtle smile, a finger perhaps resting near its mouth. This infant wears a peculiar, grey, pointed helmet or cap, immediately introducing an element of curious incongruity. Nestled beside the baby is the profile of a woman, her eyes gently closed in a state of repose, her blonde hair forming a soft, golden expanse. The figures are delineated with Wesley's signature bold, black outlines and filled with flat, unmodulated areas of color, creating a graphic immediacy that is both accessible and subtly disquieting. The vibrant blue background further accentuates the clean, almost iconic forms, drawing the viewer's attention to the intimate yet enigmatic interaction between the two subjects, a hallmark of Wesley's ability to transform the mundane into the subtly surreal. The intriguing title, Priscilla the Hun, offers a significant key to understanding Wesley's artistic approach. It juxtaposes the innocence and tenderness of the depicted scene, a mother and child, with a historical reference to a nomadic, warlike people, creating a tension that is central to the work's allure. Wesley frequently employed such unexpected convergences, blending the commonplace with the bizarre, the historical with the domestic, and the innocent with the subtly provocative. His clean, almost cartoon-like aesthetic, while seemingly straightforward, often masks deeper psychological undercurrents or playful subversions of established narratives. As a screenprint on museum board, Priscilla the Hun showcases Wesley's adept use of a medium favored by Pop artists for its crisp lines and reproducible nature, echoing commercial art processes. This work stands as a testament to his unique contribution to the Pop Art movement, distinguishing itself through its dreamlike quality and its ability to transform everyday subjects into something both familiar and profoundly strange. For collectors, it represents a quintessential example of Wesley's mature style, offering both visual pleasure and intellectual engagement, a piece that continues to resonate with its blend of wit, charm, and subtle critique.

Medium
Screenprint on museum board
Location
Wright, Chicago, United States

🔨 Auction Lot

Wright: 20|21 Art: The Chicago Edition (July 2022)

July 14, 2022

Estimate: $1,000 to $2,000

Lot 298

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About this work

John Wesley, Priscilla the Hun, 1971

John Wesley's 1971 screenprint, Priscilla the Hun, presents a captivating tableau, characteristic of the artist's distinctive Pop Art sensibility. The composition features a large, close-up depiction of a baby, rendered with striking blue eyes and a subtle smile, a finger perhaps resting near its mouth. This infant wears a peculiar, grey, pointed helmet or cap, immediately introducing an element of curious incongruity. Nestled beside the baby is the profile of a woman, her eyes gently closed in a state of repose, her blonde hair forming a soft, golden expanse. The figures are delineated with Wesley's signature bold, black outlines and filled with flat, unmodulated areas of color, creating a graphic immediacy that is both accessible and subtly disquieting. The vibrant blue background further accentuates the clean, almost iconic forms, drawing the viewer's attention to the intimate yet enigmatic interaction between the two subjects, a hallmark of Wesley's ability to transform the mundane into the subtly surreal. The intriguing title, Priscilla the Hun, offers a significant key to understanding Wesley's artistic approach. It juxtaposes the innocence and tenderness of the depicted scene, a mother and child, with a historical reference to a nomadic, warlike people, creating a tension that is central to the work's allure. Wesley frequently employed such unexpected convergences, blending the commonplace with the bizarre, the historical with the domestic, and the innocent with the subtly provocative. His clean, almost cartoon-like aesthetic, while seemingly straightforward, often masks deeper psychological undercurrents or playful subversions of established narratives. As a screenprint on museum board, Priscilla the Hun showcases Wesley's adept use of a medium favored by Pop artists for its crisp lines and reproducible nature, echoing commercial art processes. This work stands as a testament to his unique contribution to the Pop Art movement, distinguishing itself through its dreamlike quality and its ability to transform everyday subjects into something both familiar and profoundly strange. For collectors, it represents a quintessential example of Wesley's mature style, offering both visual pleasure and intellectual engagement, a piece that continues to resonate with its blend of wit, charm, and subtle critique.

Medium
Screenprint on museum board
Year
1971
Seen at
Wright, Chicago, United States

Related themes

Print, Vintage Print, Graphic Art, Surreal, Blue, Mother and Child, Collectible Print, Conceptual, Male Artist, Narrative Art, American Artist, Screenprint, Pop Art, Portrait, Flat Color, Domestic Scene, Postwar, Bold Outline, Iconic Imagery, Figurative

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