"Pink Elephants On The Wall" by Dorothy Waterhouse McKee

This abstract figurative watercolour was created a year before the death of the artist Dorothy McKee, bearing a label on its back indicating it was produced in Berkeley with the straight out of a surrealist universe title "Pink Elephants On The Wall".

This painting is composed of squared shapes which act as a backdrop to the bright colours that could depict different floors of a house or an analogy for changing states under the influence of alcohol.

The embracing and toasting couples in the lower part, along with the hanging bottles in the upper portion, represent joyousness and celebration. In contrast, in the middle the elephants moving from left to right are outlined simply with pink, symbolising something more surreal or dreamlike.

A pink elephant is a metaphor used to illustrate being inebriated or out of one's control. The expression was used for the first time by the American writer Jack London in 1913 in Le Cabaret de la dernier chance. As such, sculptures and images of pink elephants have become commonplace in many cultures around the world.


Dorothy Jean Waterhouse McKee was born in Fresno, CA on July 20, 1897. She graduated from UC in 1918 and then wed John McKee. Settling in Berkeley, she remained there until her death on Dec. 30, 1949.

REFERENCE NUMBER: LU825834791592
PERIOD: 1940-1949
CONDITION: Good
MEASUREMENTS: Height: 18.13" Width: 14.38" Depth: 0.5"
COUNT: 1
MATERIAL: Paper, Painted
CREATOR: Dorothy McKee
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States