Desire and Abundance: American Culture and the Still Life | Memorial Art Gallery
Source: https://mag.rochester.edu/exhibitions/desire-and-abundance
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:34
Desire and Abundance: American Culture and the Still Life | Memorial Art Gallery
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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.
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.
Highlights
Audrey Flack,
Fourth of July Still Life
, 1975, color serigraph, laminated/die cut. Gift of Lorillard, New York, 1975.120.3 © Estate of Audrey Flack
Genesis Belanger,
Care-taken
, 2025, porcelain, plywood, wood veneer, linoleum. Mabel Fenner Lyon Fund, 2025.16 © Genesis Belanger
Digital Guide
Learn more about the works on view in this exhibition in our digital guide!
Explore our digital guide
Skip to main content
The museum is open from 11 am–8 pm today.
Tickets
Membership
Give
Shop
Highlights
Digital Guide
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.
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.
Highlights
Audrey Flack,
Fourth of July Still Life
, 1975, color serigraph, laminated/die cut. Gift of Lorillard, New York, 1975.120.3 © Estate of Audrey Flack
Genesis Belanger,
Care-taken
, 2025, porcelain, plywood, wood veneer, linoleum. Mabel Fenner Lyon Fund, 2025.16 © Genesis Belanger
Digital Guide
Learn more about the works on view in this exhibition in our digital guide!
Explore our digital guide