Yellow Airplane

Date1994

Artist Vollis Simpson (1919-2013)

MediumPaint on metal and wood with plastic decal

DimensionsOverall: 19 x 30 x 24in. (48.3 x 76.2cm)

Credit LineGift of Ellin and Baron Gordon

Object number1998.800.2

DescriptionA whirligig in the shape of an airplane, the plane made of wood with metal wings, propellers and tail; three rubber wheels are mounted beneath. The plane is painted yellow with red and green tips. The piece is mounted on a iron pole set in a metal stand which is the wheel of a car or truck tire.
Label TextVollis Simpson's fondness for planes may date back to his time in the Army Air Corps during World War II, when he was stationed in the Mariana Islands in the South Pacific. His fascination with wind-activated apparatuses had surfaced by that time. On Saipan, he constructed a housekeeper's dream, a wind- powered mechanism that picked up baskets of dirty clothes and sloshed them through soapy water. Although Simpson is best known for large-scale, structurally complex whirligigs, such as those that decorate his family farm, this small, simple plane proves that he can generate magic in any form or size.
ProvenanceThe Gordons, AARFAM's donors, bought this scupture directly from the artist.

Exhibition(s)