Object Timeline

1953

  • Work on this object began.

2016

  • We acquired this object.

2017

2024

  • You found it!

Textile, Golf Magic

This is a Textile. It was designed by Brian Connelly and produced by Associated American Artists. It is dated 1953 and we acquired it in 2016. Its medium is cotton and its technique is printed. It is a part of the Textiles department.

In Golf Magic, an example of Brian Connelly’s signature trompe l’oeil technique, golf balls with a pale green cast seem to float mid-air above a bright green ground—or are they resting on the ground? Connelly’s clever visual trick keeps the balls perpetually in motion. Depicted over and over again, these golf balls evoke the mass production and consumerism that drove the American Pop Art movement.
This design in a yellow colorway (2002-23-1) is currently represented in the museum’s collection.

This object was donated by American Textile History Museum. It is credited American Textile History Museum Collection.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 114.9 × 90.2 cm (45 1/4 × 35 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Textile, Golf Magic; Designed by Brian Connelly (American, 1926 - 1962); Produced by Associated American Artists (United States); cotton; H x W: 114.9 × 90.2 cm (45 1/4 × 35 1/2 in.); American Textile History Museum Collection; 2016-35-30

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1108711581/ |title=Textile, Golf Magic |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>