Talks & Conversations

The Art of Looking: Margaret Burroughs, Still Life

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Geometric shapes and pieces of fruit in vivid yellow, red, midnight blue, cool green, and orange form a rough pyramid on a mottled brown surface or table in this vertical, abstracted still life painting. The objects and surrounding patterns are painted with visible, textured brushstrokes. The tallest shape is a crimson-red cylinder in the center. In front of and just to the right of the red cylinder is a corn-yellow cylinder topped with a semi-circle resembling a mushroom cap. Next is a red orb, perhaps an apple, sitting in a half-moon shaped, blue and black dish or cup with a yellow footed stem. Balancing out these descending forms are two half-circles that flare to our left from behind the cylinders. The upper disk has a yellow fish-scale pattern against teal blue, and the other lightens from lime green at the center to lemon yellow at the perimeter. Four pieces of fruit are in front of the pyramid. From left to right are a half an oval melon with a dark blue skin and pink flesh, a cluster of acid-green grapes, a pear painted in cobalt blue and bright yellow, and an orange piece of fruit. Slices of pattern cut diagonally across the background and overlap. At the front, turquoise flowers with yellow centers are arranged against coral pink and black lines. Other slices have stripes, polka dots, or more flowers in tones of bright yellow, cranberry red, carnation pink, and sky blue. A vertical band up the right edge of the composition has pale blue dots against celestial blue.
Margaret Burroughs, Still Life, 1943, oil on compressed particle board, Corcoran Collection (The Evans-Tibbs Collection, Gift of Thurlow Evans Tibbs, Jr.), 2015.19.206

Margaret Burroughs’ Still Life is the inspiration for this interactive conversation. Join us for a one-hour virtual session and share your observations, interpretations, questions, and ideas about this work of art.

These conversations will encourage you to engage deeply with art, with others, and with the world around you as you hone skills in visual literacy and perspective-taking.

The program is free, open to the public, and is designed for everyone interested in talking about art. No art or art history background is required. Ages 18 and over.     

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