Robert IndianaAmerican, 1928–2018American Eat Co.
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “American Eat Co.” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
Indiana attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1949 to 1953 before moving to New York in 1954. This drawing comes from a series completed during the early 1960s featuring the frottage (rubbing) technique. He used a 19th-century brass commercial stencil from the American Hay Company, discovered in an abandoned loft in Lower Manhattan. Indiana laid paper over the stencil and transferred the dimensional image onto the sheet using soft graphite and hatching.
Art Institute of ChicagoCC BY 4.0
Details
- Accession number
- 1996.5
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Robert Indiana
The whole lifeearly 1960s
MoMA buys “The American Dream, I”
Alfred H. Barr Jr. acquires the painting The American Dream, I for the Museum of Modern Art; after this the artist’s career takes off.
1962
First solo exhibition in New York
Eleanor Ward’s Stable Gallery hosts his first solo exhibition in New York.
1963
Warhol films “Bob Indiana Etc.”
Andy Warhol makes a portrait of him, the four-minute silent film Bob Indiana Etc., in which Wynn Chamberlain and John Giorno also appear.
