Duffy's

Artist Barbara Greene Mann (American, 1948 - 2018)

Date1981

MediumWatercolor

DimensionsImage Size: 13 1/2 × 19 1/4 in. (34.3 × 48.9 cm) Frame Size: 21 1/4 × 27 1/4 in. (54 × 69.2 cm)

ClassificationsDrawing

Credit LineGift of James Pearson Duffy, 1992

Object numberUAC1325

Description“Well you couldn’t sit in that room [the pipe storage yard] for long and not think of circles”

This quote from artist Robert Sestok in relation to his murals, especially the piece quoted by Barbara Green in “Duffy’s”, is further visualized in Greene’s watercolor as it illustrates the pipe room of Edward W. Duffy and Company as a collection of circles and linear tubes seen from an amalgam of perspectives creating a curved, almost fish eyed view with a with a firework-esqe collection of tubes in the center exploding out towards the viewer. This unique documentation of such a seemingly mundane subject hints at the surprising secondary role of the Duffy’s business as gallery space for the contemporary Cass Corridor movement. Also, more directly referencing this duality of business, is the inclusion of depictions of works found throughout the entire facility. Greene, at James Pearson Duffy’s request, included as much of his warehouse collection as possible in the series of three small watercolors she captured in 1981. In “Duffy’s”, Robert Sestok’s untitled mural (1973) and James Chatelain’s “Life Size” (1975) are clearly visible at either end of Greene’s rainbow-like composition.

Detroit native Barbara Greene, now Barbara Greene Mann graduated with a B.A. in 1972 and subsequent M.A. from Wayne State University in 1974 (other sources cite her graduation date as 1973). She continued to create and show her work in the Detroit area into the 1980s when she moved to Philadelphia, enrolling the Occupational Therapy program at Thomas Jefferson University. Barbara pursed her OT career in both Florida and Canada into the early 2000s. She is currently living in Toronto, continuing to create her characteristically whimsical works.

Written by Kat Goffnett

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