Jeffrey Vallance

American, b. 1955

Self-Portrait with Smokey the Bear
1976

Acrylic on masonite
29.75 x 31.25 x 1 in.
Gift of the Marie Eccles Caine Foundation
2006.14

Smokey the Bear has been the mascot of the US Forest Service since 1944. He became a pop culture icon in the 1950s after the introduction of his slogan, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires!” Vallance’s playful self-portrait imagines the artist shaking hands with Smokey, embracing the bear’s message of environmental stewardship and responsible recreation. Illustrations of bears had been used to market western tourism to families with children since the 1920s.

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This object has the following keywords:

• bear
• blue
• green
• Machinery
• man
• tractors - Three- or four-wheeled, powerful automotive vehicles propelled by a traction engine used for drawing, towing, bearing, or propelling wagons, artillery or equipment, most often farming equipment.
• truck

This object was included in the following exhibitions:

• Uses of the Real I , 1/20/2008 - 4/30/2011
• Bang! Thwack! Plop! Comics: An Influence on Contemporary Art , 6/14/2011 - 7/26/2012
• A Matter of Taste: Art, Kitsch, and Culture , 1/23/2016 - 5/7/2016
• The Day After Tomorrow; Art in Response to Turmoil and Hope Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art , 7/1/2020 - 12/19/2020

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