id: 173998 accession number: 2017.128 share license status: Copyrighted url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2017.128 updated: 2023-01-11 23:20:36.236000 Tea for Two (The Collector), 1980. Robert Colescott (American, 1925–2009). Acrylic on canvas; overall: 215.5 x 185 x 5 cm (84 13/16 x 72 13/16 x 1 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Agnes Gund given in honor of Darren Walker 2017.128 © Robert H. Colescott Separate Property Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York) title: Tea for Two (The Collector) title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1980 creation date earliest: 1975 creation date latest: 1985 current location: 229A Contemporary creditline: Gift of Agnes Gund given in honor of Darren Walker copyright: © Robert H. Colescott Separate Property Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York) --- culture: America, 20th century technique: acrylic on canvas department: Contemporary Art collection: Paintings type: Painting find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * Robert Colescott (American, 1925–2009) - artist --- measurements: Overall: 215.5 x 185 x 5 cm (84 13/16 x 72 13/16 x 1 15/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: Signed and dated in the upper left: “R. Colescott/80” translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: From Then to Now: Masterworks of Contemporary African American Art opening date: 2010-01-29T00:00:00 From Then to Now: Masterworks of Contemporary African American Art. Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland (MOCA), Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-May 9, 2010). title: Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott opening date: 2019-09-20T04:00:00 Art and Race Matters: The Career of Robert Colescott. Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH (organizer) (September 20, 2019-January 12, 2020); Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (February 15-December 13, 2020). title: Contemporary Gallery Reinstallation 2021 opening date: 2021-04-20T04:00:00 Contemporary Gallery Reinstallation 2021. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS * Robert Colescott: Another Judgement. Knight Gallery, Spirit Square Arts Center, Charlotte, NC (February 13-April 7, 1985). * Robert Colescott: A Retrospective, 1975-1986. San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA (organizer) (April 5-May 31, 1987); Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH (September 11-November 7, 1987); The Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD (January 12-February 28, 1988); Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (March 18-May 8, 1988); Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH (June 18-August 14, 1988); Museum of Art, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (September 10-November 5, 1988); Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX (December 3, 1988-January 28, 1989); The New Museum, New York (February 25-April 22, 1989); Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA (May 20-July 15, 1989). --- PROVENANCE Collection of the artist date: footnotes: citations: Private Collection, New York. date: footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 2017- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Tea for Two features representations of artworks by Roy Lichtenstein, Barnett Newman, David Smith, and Frank Stella, among other artists. digital description: Robert Colescott is known for his figurative paintings that critique contemporary American culture. Using bright colors, expressive gestures, and visual puns, he debunks racial and gender stereotypes deeply ingrained in American culture and society. Tea for Two depicts a wealthy Black art collector surrounded by his collection that suggest artworks by Roy Lichtenstein, David Smith, Frank Stella, and other elite white artists whose work fetches high prices. wall description: Robert Colescott is known for his figurative paintings that critique contemporary American culture. Using bright colors, expressive gestures, and visual puns, he debunks racial and gender stereotypes deeply ingrained in American culture and society. Tea for Two depicts a wealthy Black art collector surrounded by his collection that suggest artworks by Roy Lichtenstein, David Smith, Frank Stella, and other elite white artists whose work fetches high prices. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Richard, Paul. “Robert Colescott’s Perspectives on Black and White.” The Washington Post (January 20, 1988). page number: mentioned url: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/01/20/robert-colescotts-perspectives-on-black-and-white/029378fe-b793-40aa-83b9-d6d92a706a2b/?utm_term=.39c49b974c79 Sims, Lowery Stokes, Robert Colescott, and Mitchell Douglas Kahan. Robert Colescott, a Retrospective, 1975-1986. San Jose, Calif: The Museum, 1987. page number: Reproduced p. 25, Fig. 30; mentioned p. 26. url: Colescott, Robert, Ann Shengold, and Terry Maxon Miller, eds. Robert Colescott: Another Judgement. Exh. Cat. Charlotte, NC: Knight Gallery, Spirit Square Arts Center, 1985. page number: Reproduced p. 17. url: Kahan, Mitchell. “Robert Colescott: Pride and Prejudice.” Art Papers 9, no. 3 (May/June 1985): 22-23 page number: Mentioned p. 23 url: Platow, Raphaela, et al. Art and race matters: the career of Robert Colescott. New York, New York : Rizzoli Electa ; Cincinnati, Ohio : In association with Contempoary Arts Center, 2019. page number: Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 129-130, fig. 30 url: “New Take on the New: A comprehensive reinstallation of the galleries of contemporary art offers fresh viewpoints on the art of our time.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 2 (Spring 2021): cover, 4-9. page number: Reproduced: Cover; Mentioned: P. 4. url: Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 61, no. 2 (Spring 2021): Cover. page number: Reproduced: Cover; Mentioned: P. 4. url: --- IMAGES