Reliquary Flower
1953
Leo Kenney
born 1925, Spokane, Washington; died Seattle, Washington, 2001
The reliquary flower is a Victorian keepsake— an item of jewelry, a memento enshrined within a glass locket—a flower endowed with an individual’s memories and meaning. As Kenney paints it, a flower itself is a reliquary, a natural chamber filled with mystifying things that have mystical powers.
Opaque watercolor and gold leaf on Chinese paper
23 x 18 1/2 in. (58.4 x 47 cm)
Gift of the Marshall and Helen Hatch Collection, in honor of the 75th Anniversary of the Seattle Art Museum
2009.52.50
Provenance: Leona Wood; Marshall and Helen Hatch, Seattle
Photo: Elizabeth Mann