The America Suite

“I conceived The America Suite as a cohesive collection of fourteen original still-life paintings featuring portraits of the American Flag. All paintings are oil on canvas. These paintings are available only as an exclusive collection and will not be sold individually.” ~ William Wolk

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Genesis.

In 2006 I began to notice that a number of seminal American painters had used the image of the American Flag in their landscape paintings—draped over a front porch railing, fluttering from a flag pole, and, of course, in historical paintings such as Washington Crossing the Delaware. This observation led me to wonder how I would interpret this subject if I were to compose it in a painting.

I purchased some flags and soon realized that nylon flags didn’t work very well for my purposes; they were too silky smooth and wrinkle free. Cotton flags were the solution. Setting them up in an interior still-life and carefully adjusting the lighting to accentuate the folds, puckers, and wrinkles proved visually intriguing. It also challenged me to draw upon my utmost concentration and sketching skills. My intention was to have the viewer experience the flag as a serious subject—beautiful in its design, powerful in its simplicity, and deeply symbolic.

Do we find the American Flag beautiful because of its physical attributes—the design of the stars and stripes and their colors—or because of something deeper: a spiritual connection to the patriotism that beats in our hearts, so intimately tied to the history of our forebearers? Perhaps it is both, inseparable at some point.

Initially, I was not led to this subject out of a sense of patriotism. I came to it as an academic challenge after seeing the flag rendered in many ways by artists ranging from Andrew and Jamie Wyeth to Peter Max, Leroy Neiman, and Jasper Johns.

My first flag painting sold on the same day it was displayed. The buyer had one condition: he wanted the flag I had used as the model for the painting. I ordered another flag and challenged myself to go deeper into the subject, to improve upon my own work—and I have been evolving this theme ever since.

Evolution.

American realist painter William Wolk (1951–2022), acclaimed for his still lifes, dancers and figures, portraits, animals, and a lifetime of masterful realism.

Something very interesting began to happen as I progressed in this series of flag paintings: even as I brought the image to life, I myself began to become aware of a deep emotional stirring. Some fundamental emotional response to the image in front of me.

Very often, people would stand before my flag paintings and get emotionally choked up. Many became teary-eyed; men and women both. After a time, I came to understand this reaction. The American Flag, when portrayed thoughtfully, rendered in a work of art, casts a spell of its own over the viewer. I myself was not immune.

I think it’s true that we, as thinking-feeling human beings, create our own realities. In so far as this is true, everything we see becomes the proverbial ink blot of a Rorschach test. Some may look at the ink blot and see a butterfly while others may see a raven…or a boogieman. The American Flag is a very strong image all over the planet. It is an extraordinary ink blot! It is so deeply entrenched in the psyche of people the world over, that, upon seeing it, very few are left emotionally neutral. Some may honor the people that the American Flag represents, while others may want to annihilate them. Very strong emotional reactions brought about by the very same symbol. There is nothing neutral about it.

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Upcoming Exhibition

William Wolk’s upcoming exhibition with the U.S. Department of State’s Art in Embassies program will be presented in Vienna, Austria. The American Suite in Vienna will feature three works from this cohesive series of fourteen original oil paintings that depict the American flag as a patriotic still-life subject. Painted on canvas, the works consider the flag not as a declarative emblem, but as a formal, patriotic and symbolic presence shaped by light, fabric, and interior space. Rendered from carefully lit cotton flags, the paintings emphasize folds, tension, and surface, encouraging sustained visual engagement.