Annunciation

Raphael Soyer, Annunciation, 1980, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.98
Copied Raphael Soyer, Annunciation, 1980, oil on linen, 56 1⁄8 x 50 1⁄8 in. (142.5 x 127.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.98

Artwork Details

Title
Annunciation
Artist
Date
1980
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
56 1⁄8 x 50 1⁄8 in. (142.5 x 127.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on linen
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure group — female
  • Architecture Interior — domestic — bathroom
  • Recreation — leisure — grooming
Object Number
1986.6.98
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.98

Artwork Description

Raphael Soyer once said, “If art is to survive it must describe and express people, their lives and times. It must communicate.” Throughout his life, Soyer explored the inner individual. Annunciation is a quiet painting of two young women caught in a moment of introspection. The biblical title, which refers to the moment when an angel tells the Virgin Mary that she will bear the Messiah, is a clue to an implied meaning about regeneration and the mystery of life.


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

Exhibitions

Media - 1986.6.100 - SAAM-1986.6.100_2 - 135134
Modern American Realism: Highlights from the Sara Roby Foundation Collection
Smithsonian American Art Museum
This exhibition presents some of the most treasured paintings and sculpture from SAAM’s permanent collection, including artworks by Will Barnet, Isabel Bishop, Paul Cadmus, Edward Hopper, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Jacob Lawrence, George Tooker, among others.