Desire and Abundance: American Culture and the Still Life

December 13, 2025–January 31, 2027

Forman Gallery

American values take shape in the objects we make, desire, cherish, and discard. A table laden with ripe fruit, a meal served up at a luncheonette, the inside of a medicine cabinet—ordinary materials around us chronicle our lives. The still life, a genre of art that dates back to the ancient world, captures those objects of everyday life while often conveying deeper meanings and hidden messages.

A still life of an assortment of objects associated with patriotism in the United States, including a shiny gold eagle statue, shiny plastic statues of 18th century soldiers, and red, white, and blue streamers. — *Fourth of July Still Life*, 1975
Audrey Flack
Color serigraph, laminated/die cut. Gift of Lorillard, New York, 1975.120.3 © Estate of Audrey Flack

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Desire and Abundance features a selection from MAG’s collection of American still lifes, spanning from the 1800s to the present. Taken together, these artworks present an array of items that underscore shifting tastes in American art, commerce, and daily life.