She Mistook Kindness for Weakness (SMKFW)
Modern and Contemporary Art

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She Mistook Kindness for Weakness (SMKFW)
Artwork Details
Artist/Maker
Julian Schnabel
American, born 1951
American, born 1951
Date
1986
Medium
Oil and modeling paste on velvet
Accession #
1999.112
Dimensions
Please contact the Museum for more information.
Location
Currently Not on View
Description
Laden with personal symbols and obscure historical references, She Mistook Kindness for Weakness belongs to a series of paintings on velvet Schnabel made in the mid- to-late 1980s. His use of black velvet evokes the popular vernacular form of painting on velvet sold to tourists in Mexican border towns, including Brownsville, Texas, Schnabel’s hometown. The thick paint on soft velvet has an aura of decadent sensuality to it. The painting is inscribed with the title’s acronym, SMKFW. Although cryptic, the title—like the stuffed rabbit depicted—seems menacing.
Credit
The Lenore and Burton Gold Collection of 20th-Century ArtImage Copyright
© 2019 Julian Schnabel/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York