Feather from Benjamin Franklin’s Attic

Location

Country: USA
City: Washington DC
Place: British Embassy

Cornelia Parker's "Feather from Benjamin Franklin's Attic" is a beautiful image in itself and points to wider concepts of time and place. Parker found the pigeon feather which is the subject of this photograph in the attic of Benjamin Franklin's house in London, where he stayed as American Ambassador. Like the house it came from, the feather is almost a relic, providing an entry point for us into the life of such a prominent historical figure. Parker was drawn to Franklin not only by his political activity, but also by his scientific interests.

Cornelia Parker RA (b. 1956) lives and works in London. One of Britain’s most celebrated artists, she works across sculpture, installation, embroidery, drawing, photography and film to investigate processes of transformation and suspension and to explore the times in which we live. Parker has presented numerous major commissions and solo exhibitions nationally and internationally, notably at Tate Britain (2022), the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (2019), Westminster Hall, Palace of Westminster (2017) and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2016). In 2010, Parker was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts and made an OBE. She received a CBE in 2022. In 2017, she was appointed as the first female Election Artist for the United Kingdom General Election. Her works are held in public and private collections around the world, including the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, the Fundación “la Caixa” in Barcelona, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Places

London, United States of America

Subjects

conceptual art

Materials & Techniques

photogram, photograph (as object name)

Artist

Cornelia Parker (1956 - )

Title

Feather from Benjamin Franklin’s Attic

Series Title

Up Down Charm Strange

Edition

1/5

Date

1998

Medium

photogram

Acquisition

Purchased from Frith Street Gallery, June 1998

GAC number

17329/3