Tom Wesselmann, innovative artist loosely associated with Pop Art, pictured in his New York studio.
American artist Tom Wesselmann is most famous for his sensual nudes and vivid still lifes; at once figurative and abstract, Wesselmann’s work developed a new visual vocabulary unique to the artist, which remains vibrant and relevant today.
Wesselmann was a truly innovative artist, and he enjoyed experimenting with many different techniques and mediums throughout his career. Whilst he is primarily considered a painter, prints and multiples were also an important part of his practice; they now account for 54% of his work sold at auction, where most fetch between £1,000 and £5,000.
Tom Wesselmann’s life was fairly ordinary, and he devoted much of his energy to his work, once telling an interviewer: “I paint and I go home.” Despite this, his personal experiences undoubtedly helped shape his artwork; read on to discover six things you might not have known about Tom Wesselmann.
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His Childhood Was Devoid Of Art
Tom Wesselmann was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in February 1931, but little is known of his childhood. He has said, however, that “Cincinnati was a negative influence on me as far as art is concerned. In Cincinnati, I was unaware of the existence of art.” Wesselmann studied psychology at the University of Cincinnati, but he was drafted into the US army in 1952 due to the Korean War.
It was during this time that Wesselmann first began drawing cartoons. After he was discharged from service, he completed his psychology degree and decided to become a cartoonist. It was only when he moved to New York in 1956 and got a place at the Cooper Union that he developed an interest in fine art.
His Most Expensive Print Sold For Over £121,026
Times Square Nude is a mixture of a silkscreen and oil on formed vinyl from 1969-70, and it set a new record for Wesselmann when it was sold by Christie’s in March 2024 for £121,026. The piece combines what Wesselmann called his “most active interests: nudes and still lifes” to great effect. He discovered these interests when he first started studying fine art in New York, a city which his wife and model of many years, Claire Selley, said “lit him on fire.”
Times Square Nude sold by Christie’s in 2024
The Nude Is Intrinsic To His Work
Tom Wesselmann’s breakthrough came with his Great American Nude series, which he began in 1961 and eventually completed in 1973. The series often combined nude female figures with American interiors and consumer goods, and the works span a variety of different mediums.
The series allowed Wesselmann to modernise the nude, an ancient and central motif in art, and it established his reputation as an important contemporary artist. The nude continued to be intrinsic to Wesselmann’s work throughout his career, and the sale of prints such as Stockinged Nude and Times Square Nude prove the motif’s popularity.
Tom Wesselmann postioning his model c. 1967
But It Made Him A Divisive Figure
Wesselmann once said: “For many years, drawing, especially from the nude, was a desperate attempt to capture something significant of the beauty of the woman I was confronted with. It was always frustrating because the beauty of the woman is so elusive.”
His attempts to capture this elusive beauty received mixed reactions. Wesselmann’s tendency to anonymise his female figures and isolate erotic zones of their bodies have led some to describe his work as sexist, and he’s even been accused of objectifying women and treating them like consumer goods.
Many others, though, see the sensuality at the heart of Wesselmann’s work, and his genuine love for the female form which shines through in pieces such as Stockinged Nude and Smoker Banner. His former model and assistant, Monica Serra, said he had “a fascination with women in a way I’ve never seen in a guy before… The reverence was so big. Almost like they had a magic”.
He Brought The Figure Into Abstract Art
Tom Wesselmann is often quoted as saying that the “prime mission” of his work was “to make figurative art as exciting as abstract art.” He accomplished this with immense success, although when he first decided to be a representational rather than an abstract painter in 1959, he said: “I had absolutely no enthusiasm about any particular subject or direction or anything. I was starting from absolute zero.”
Wesselmann’s art is undoubtedly representational, though there are times when it almost veers into abstraction (for instance in the bold, vibrant shapes of Smoker Banner). This fine balance between different styles means Wesselmann’s work remains unique and refreshing decades after its creation, making it no surprise that his art is still exceptionally popular at auction.
He Worked Until The Very End
Wesselmann died in 2004 at the age of 73, but he remained devoted to his work right up until the end of his life. One of his daughters, Kate, recalled in 2016 how he continued to paint even when he needed help to get from his apartment to his nearby studio. Kate explained, “He said to me that every brushstroke was physically painful, but he couldn’t stop.”
Wesselmann was an artist who continually pushed boundaries and explored new techniques within his work. Even once his reputation was established, he still sought to try new things; in the early 1980s, for instance, he began experimenting with using metal in his work, which resulted in some of his most popular pieces (including Birthday Bouquet and Bedroom Face with Green Wallpaper).
This continual exploration proves Wesselmann lived by his belief that “Growth is the goal, and the goal is never complete – art must be in constant change.”
