The Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind: Newsletter

Khalil Rabah American-Palestinian

2012

Not on view

This work is an important example of the "Newsletter" chapter that initiated Rabah’s ongoing project The Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind, for which the artist is best known. The invented museum, manifested as site-specific installations by the artist at locations around the world, divides itself into spheres of natural and human life, echoing the conflation of non-Western peoples and natural resources in early colonial museum displays. Rabah commissioned this painting, like others in the project, from a Chinese workshop as an editioned series, as if to suggest that the medium of painting itself might be reproducible. It features the front page of the fictional museum’s members’ newsletter, imperfectly mimicking the institutional voice of an American museum.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: The Palestinian Museum of Natural History and Humankind: Newsletter
Artist: Khalil Rabah (American-Palestinian, born Jerusalem 1961)
Date: 2012
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 78 3/4 × 39 1/4 × 1 3/4 in. (200 × 99.7 × 4.4 cm)
Classification: Paintings
Credit Line: Gift of Carla Chammas and Judi Roaman, 2022
Object Number: 2022.341.2
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

In the same medium

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

The Blind Man's Meal, Pablo Picasso Spanish, Oil on canvas — The Blind Man's Meal
Pablo Picasso
1903

The Actor, Pablo Picasso Spanish, Oil on canvas — The Actor
Pablo Picasso
1904–5

Black Abstraction, Georgia O'Keeffe American, Oil on canvas — Black Abstraction
Georgia O'Keeffe
1927

Vines and Olive Trees, Tarragona, Joan Miró Spanish, Oil on canvas — Vines and Olive Trees, Tarragona
Joan Miró
1919

Self-Portrait as a Photographer, Yasuo Kuniyoshi American, born Japan, Oil on canvas — Self-Portrait as a Photographer
Yasuo Kuniyoshi
1924

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.