David Miretsky
American, born Ukraine, 1939American Dream #2, 1982
Not on view
Oil on canvas
Dimensions70 × 70 in. (177.8 × 177.8 cm)
Gift of Amie Karp, 2010.235
Set inside the home, this painting features a family of five as they count, save, and invest their dollars to achieve the “American Dream.”
Beginning on the right side of the painting, the immaculately dressed mother holds a savings account booklet. To her left, her husband, adorned in a suit and several gold rings, holds nine thousand dollars in cash. On the table before them are the tools that will help them achieve their financial goals; owning a home, multiple checking accounts, a credit card,
cash on hand, and how-to books and magazines.
Behind them their children follow suit in their financial prowess. The oldest daughter holds onto a savings account booklet, the middle daughter holds her envelope of allowance, and the youngest son holds his piggy bank securely. The family cat and bird make no contributions but they are included all the same. Above the whole scene an angel brings a solution to all of their problems, a winning ticket of one million dollars.
