Alexander Gray Associates
Skip to main content
Menu
  • Artworks

    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988

    Hugh Steers

    Gold Box, 1988
    Oil on canvas
    54 1/8 x 65 1/2 in
    137.32 x 166.37 cm
    EHS055

    Further images

    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 5 ) Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 6 ) Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    • (View a larger image of thumbnail 7 ) Hugh Steers, Gold Box, 1988
    In the late 1980s, roughly around the time he learned he was HIV positive, Hugh Steers began to paint images of a small, cryptic being. Steers often depicted this child-like...
    Read more

    In the late 1980s, roughly around the time he learned he was HIV positive, Hugh Steers began to paint images of a small, cryptic being. Steers often depicted this child-like figure crouched on people's chests or clutching their head—as though she was trying to smother them. This imp-like creature recalls both the demon from Henry Fuseli’s The Nightmare (1781), as well as the ominous owls and bats of Francisco Goya’s aquatint, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters (c. 1799), and reveals the influence of the Western canon on the artist's practice. In Gold Box (1988), Steers presents this figure blinding another as a snake slithers away from an open box. Referencing the Greek myth of Pandora, whose curiosity led her to open a box and release sickness into the world, as well as the temptation of Eve, this menacing composition reveals Steers's own fears and despair after learning of his diagnosis.

    Close full details

    Provenance

    Estate of Hugh Steers

    Literature

    Trout, Hank. “A Strange State of Being.” A&U Magazine, March 15, 2021.

    Publications

    Schröder, Barbara and Karen Kelly, eds. Hugh Steers: The Complete Paintings, 1983-1994. New York: Visual AIDS, 2015, pp. 112, 200.

    Enquire
    %3Cdiv%20class%3D%22artist%22%3EHugh%20Steers%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22title_and_year%22%3E%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_title%22%3EGold%20Box%3C/span%3E%2C%20%3Cspan%20class%3D%22title_and_year_year%22%3E1988%3C/span%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22medium%22%3EOil%20on%20canvas%3C/div%3E%3Cdiv%20class%3D%22dimensions%22%3E54%201/8%20x%2065%201/2%20in%3Cbr/%3E137.32%20x%20166.37%20cm%3C/div%3E
    Share
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Tumblr
    • Email
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Manage cookies
© Alexander Gray Associates
Site by Artlogic

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences