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Slow Time in Arcadia


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Image of Slow Time in Arcadia

Slow Time in Arcadia
Painting

1977
60 x 72 in. (152.4 x 182.88 cm)

Roy De Forest (North Platte, Nebraska, 1930 - 2007, Vallejo, California)

Object Type: Painting
Medium and Support: Acrylic polymer on canvas
Credit Line: Museum purchase with funds contributed by Polly and Tom Bredt and the Lipman Family Foundation
Accession Number: 2002.09

SJMA Label Text


Bookish (2011- 2012)

Slow Time in Arcadia presents Roy De Forest’s version of life in Arcadia – the ancient pastoral Greek land whose name has come to symbolize an earthly paradise. According to myth, Artemis, goddess of the hunt, was bathing in an Arcadian stream when she was surprised by the Greek hunter Acteon. He stared at her in fascination, but the goddess punished him for his boldness by turning him into a stag, whereupon he was torn apart by his own hounds.

De Forest presented episodes of the story simultaneously within a single frame. On the left, an enraged Artemis reacts to being watched by Acteon, who is depicted as a cowboy perched among the Arcadian cliffs. In the foreground, De Forest’s signature dogs enact the violent sentence.


Collection Highlights (2002-2004)

Roy De Forest is best known for his whimsical paintings populated by wild-eyed, pointy-eared dogs frolicking in brightly colored, crazy-quilted jungles. After completing this painting, De Forest realized it shared many elements with the ancient Greek myth of Artemis and Acteon.

According to the myth, the goddess Artemis was bathing in an Arcadian stream when she caught the hunter Acteon spying upon her. Enraged, she turned him into a stag and sent his own pack of dogs to consume him. De Forest’s playful scene resembles the goddess’s victory celebration.

Exhibition

Nuts and Who's: A Candy Store Sampler, August 11, 2023 – February 25, 2024, Gibson Family Gallery and Plaza Gallery, San José Museum of Art.

Of Dogs and Other People: The Art of Roy De Forest, April 15 - August 13, 2017, Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA

Bookish, September 25, 2011 - January 15, 2012, 2nd Floor, South Gallery, San José Museum of Art.

Random Encounters, July 2007 - November 2007, Lower Lobby Landing, San José Museum of Art.

Inside Out: Selections from the Permanent Collection, November 20, 2004 - July 9, 2006, New Wing, Second Floor, South Metro A and Central Skylight Galleries, San José Museum of Art.

Collection Highlights, November 2, 2002 - September 12, 2004, New Wing, Gibson Family Gallery and Plaza Gallery, First Floor, San José Museum of Art.

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Dimensions
  • Image Dimensions: 60 x 72 in. (152.4 x 182.88 cm)

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