One of the first works embarked upon in Tom Wesselmann's celebrated eponymous series, Great American Nude #10, 1961 is one of the earliest and most original examples of Wesselmann's enchantment with this infamous theme.  Starting in 1960, the Great American Nudes would become among the quintessential icons of American Pop Art and Wesselmann's trademark seri♎es.  Borrowing imagery and visual vocabulary from billboard advertisements, Wesselmann created simplified and brightly coloured nudes that spoke of an era of rising consumerism in America, increased permissiveness and the use of sexuality to sell 🍸commercial products. 

In Great American Nude #10, Wesselmann reinterprets the tradition of the reclining nude, from Titian's Venus to Matisse's Large Reclining Nude to reflect the tastes and expectations of the American public of his day.  Illustrating his increasing tendency to focus on a part of the body rather than an entire figure, the present work serves as a precursor for his major Bedroom series.  By focusing on an isolated part of the body (the torso in this case), Wesselmann continues the process of simplification and dehumanization that he began by omitting the eyes and lower legs of the figure, and focusing entirely on the erogenous zones: pubis, breasts, stomach and lips.  The strong red and white candy-cane stripes at the bottom of the circular composition are interrupted by a long and lean female figure, reclining sensually across the centre of the composition.  Reacting against the elite painterliness and hermeticism of Abstract Expressionism, Wesselmann decided to limit himself largely to the national colours of red, white and blue.  As Sam Hunter observes, "A dream Wesselmann had in 1960 clarified for him the issue of finding an original colour scheme at an early date in his career, and also provided the impetus for one of his major themes.  Aware of three words as he slept - red, white and blue - he awoke feeling that he had discovered the colour key for a series of nudes, which he called The Great American Nude" (Sam Hunter, Tom Wesselmann, New York 1995, p. 18).  In Great American Nude #10, one is immediately struck by the striking resemblance to the American flag.  Rising above her form is a solid pale blue area, thus further emphasizing the patriotic composition.  Hunter continues, "Wesselman's imagery, like that of many other artists of his generation, can be taken as a mocking satire on American life and the American dream" (Ibid, p. 20).  At♓ the top of the work, a collage element is incorporated, showing a panorama of the Portuguese city of Porto, an image created by Gustave Eiffel.  Wesselman's use of collage is a key element in many of his early works and marks the present work as a unique rendition of tಌhe Great American Nude in its earliest form.