A Story of the Great Society

The size of the painting and the materials and techniques used to create Thirteen Americans contribute to the overall effect of the painting. The large scale of the painting creates a more realistic view of the work. With the painting being nine feet by eleven feet, the figures obviously are life size and the size gives the artist room to work with the line up of the characters. The viewer of the painting can relate to the figures better by seeing them in life size rather than dwarfed on a typical small canvas. The materials and technique used also add to the overall effect of the painting. The medium used for the painting is oil on canvas so the fast drying pai

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Vibrant colors separate the figures from each other and add to the crisp edges of each person. Leslie uses a simple name for the painting, putting!

emphasis on the thirteen average, everyday citizens who all play pivotal roles in the improvements in American society. Leslie’s dramatic use of lighting also adds to the effect of the painting. Leslie simply arranges the characters in a random order since they are related to each other in unique ways. The style of the painting is static and subtle.

The use of spacing and the emotional effect of lighting in Thirteen Americans also increases the meaning of the work by Leslie. Leslie also chooses a solemn and serene approach to the work so that the painting can set the scene and mood for visitors to the library. Leslie uses humans as his basic composition, which relate to each other in a nonchalant way by each representing parts of social legislation pushed for in the sixties (info from Allan Frumkin Gallery Newsletter, Fall 1982, #15, page3).

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. Leslie expresses in a subtle way that President Johnson’s true legacy involves all Americans because of his effect upon the thirteen Americans in the painti!

ng. The alignment of the characters and the co!

lors used for their clothing adds to the crispness and the irony of the painting. The artist chooses realistic models and uses his keen sense of observation to tell the story of President Johnson. ” President Johnson’s wife, Lady Bird Johnson, commissioned Thirteen Americans and had it placed in the lobby of the LBJ Library at the University of Texas. By using central and even light!

ing, Leslie creates a dramatic atmosphere in which he enlightens each character and what they represent. Primary as well as secondary colors are used in the characters’ clothing to make distinctions among them.

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