Window Number 22, Parenti’s Market

Howard Hack, Window Number 22, Parenti's Market, 1967, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.24
Copied Howard Hack, Window Number 22, Parenti's Market, 1967, oil on canvas, 63 7⁄8 x 59 3⁄4 in. (162.3 x 151.8 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1985.30.24

Artwork Details

Title
Window Number 22, Parenti’s Market
Artist
Date
1967
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
63 7⁄8 x 59 3⁄4 in. (162.3 x 151.8 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • Object — fruit — orange
  • Object — numeral
  • Architecture Interior — commercial — Parenti’s Market
  • Architecture Interior — commercial — market
  • Object — tool — scale
  • Architecture Interior — detail — window
Object Number
1985.30.24
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1985.30.24

Artwork Description

This painting is part of Howard Hack's Window series of the 1960s, which show "landscapes" of objects seen through glass storefronts. The reversed numbers and small orange pump identify this as a view of a Union 76 gas station, seen perhaps from the inside of an abandoned market where only a weighing scale and empty ceiling hooks remain. Shadowed corners underscore the emptiness and silence, and the texture of the painted window evokes layers of undisturbed dust. Hack painted some objects to appear both inside and outside the glass, creating a confusing sense of depth and making it difficult to distinguish between the real objects and their reflections.