Winning

Emma Amos, Winning, 1982, acrylic on linen with hand-woven fabric, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2019.15, © 1982, Ryan Lee Gallery, New York
Copied Emma Amos, Winning, 1982, acrylic on linen with hand-woven fabric, 75 × 64 in. (190.5 × 162.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2019.15, © 1982, Ryan Lee Gallery, New York

Artwork Details

Title
Winning
Artist
Date
1982
Dimensions
75 × 64 in. (190.5 × 162.6 cm)
Copyright
© 1982, Ryan Lee Gallery, New York
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums Description
acrylic on linen with hand-woven fabric
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female — full length
Object Number
2019.15

Artwork Description

I've just always loved yarn. I've loved paint. I've loved anything that could rely on color or just line.
--Emma Amos

Emma Amos threaded the fleeting moments of her everyday life as a Black woman into poignant artworks. Winning is a snapshot of the moment a leaping woman becomes airborne. The exultant figure, made of a patchwork of woven swatches, threads, and ribbons, celebrates Amos's commitment to fiber art even as she gained widespread recognition for her paintings and prints.

From 1961 to 1973 she worked for famed textile designer Dorothy Liebes, and in the 1970s she taught weaving at Threadbare Unlimited in Greenwich Village and the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art. Amos even produced the Boston public television program Show of Hands about crafts. Winning is more than just a moment: it indicates Amos's deliberate leap to elevate women's work in her art. 

Exhibitions

Media - 2019.15 - SAAM-2019.15_1 - 137377
Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women
May 31, 2024January 5, 2025
The artists in Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women mastered and subverted the everyday materials of cotton, felt, and wool to create deeply personal artworks.