About the Artwork
The raw emotional power of Goodman’s work sets her apart from others of the Cass Corridor group. Her paintings from the early 1970s are characterized by cryptic images, particularly organic shapes suggestive of body parts. These recurring symbols, set in fantastic combinations, explore the anxiety of living in a threatening city as well as hinting at personal tragedy.
The Cat Approaches
1974
Brenda Goodman
born 1943
American
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Oil and pencil on canvas
Unframed: 66 × 51 inches (167.6 × 129.5 cm) Framed (slat frame): 66 1/2 × 51 1/2 inches (168.9 × 130.8 cm)
Paintings
Contemporary Art after 1950
Founders Society Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad H. Smith Memorial Fund and the Gertrude Kasle Gallery
74.183
Non-commercial all standard museum
Markings
Signed and dated, lower right: B. Goodman '74
Provenance
1974-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)For more information on provenance, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Bulletin of the DIA 54, 2 (1975): p. 114.
Arts and Crafts in Detroit. Exh. cat., Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1976, p. 232, no. 299 (ill.).
"Family Art Game." DIA Advertising Supplement. Detroit News/Detroit Free Press (April 18, 1982): p. 37 (ill.).
"Family Art Game." DIA Advertising Supplement. Detroit News (April 29, 1984): p. 17 (ill.).
Bulanda, George. "The Cat Approaches." Hour Detroit (April 2012): p. 33.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Courtesy of Brenda Goodman
Brenda Goodman, The Cat Approaches, 1974, oil and pencil on canvas. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Mr. and Mrs. Conrad H. Smith Memorial Fund and the Gertrude Kasle Gallery, 74.183.
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