Untitled (American Flag)

Between 1964 and 1974, Texas artist Eddie Arning made an expansive body of drawings that re-envisioned images found in printed media like magazines. He was introduced to art by an occupational therapist, while living and being treated at a hospital in Austin for a mental condition that may have been schizophrenia. Disregarding realism, Arning distilled the detailed nature of photographic images into stark, stylized drawings that retain only the most essential components of forms and coloration. He often depicted the American flag in his drawings, perhaps reflecting both patriotic pride and his well-known affinity for bright colors and bold graphic design.

(We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022)

Credit: The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson