Fourth of July Platter
Susan Ward, American
1994
Mixed media
Overall: 12 13/16 × 18 × 1 in. (32.5 × 45.7 × 2.5 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of the Lorlee and Arnold Tenenbaum Family
2022.71.102
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th-21st century
Object Name
Platter
Research Area
Decorative Arts
On view
Label
This patriotic platter features stars, baseballs, and quilt blocks surrounding a pieced-together American flag. With the blue field to the right, it takes the form of the American flag in reverse, used on military uniforms to represent forward advancement and to honor the states that make up the Union. The accumulated layers of the collage suggest the varied components of what being American means to many people, who often list stereotypes such as baseball, rock and roll, and apple pie as part of their national identity. However, just as the dessert that represents America had been enjoyed by many cultures long before the establishment of the United States, these emblems of nationhood can shift based on their context and audience. What objects or ideas symbolize America to you?
From the 2026 exhibition Nurturing Nationhood: Artistic Constructions of America, 1790-1940, curated by Haely Chang (Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art), Evonne Fuselier (Hood Museum Board of Advisors Mutual Learning Fellow), Michael Hartman (former Jonathan Little Cohen Curator of American Art), Elizabeth Rice Mattison (Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art), and Ashley B. Offill (Curator of Collections)
Exhibition History
Nurturing Nationhood: Artistic Constructions of America, 1790-1940, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; February 7-August 29, 2026.
Provenance
Arnold and Lorlee Tenenbaum Collection, Savannah, Georgia; by descent to Ann Tenenbaum, Brian Tenenbaum, Margot Tenenbaum, Alison Tenenbaum; gifted to present collection 2022.
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