With New Year’s Eve tonight and a new year of birthdays coming up, I was inspired by the notion of cone-shaped ‘Party Hats’ and wanted to learn their origin and see what was out there in terms of fine art that incorporated the classic pointed hat. I was not disappointed and I hope you won’t be either.
The Party Hat In Art
As with many contemporary customs, we can trace the origin of these “pointy hats” to ancient times. Once puzzled by the purpose of these objects, art historians now believe ancient Egyptians wore cone-shaped hats as a festive form of dress at special occasions, like banquets.
Wall Painting: Woman Wearing Hat and Holding a Sistrum, detail (ca. 1250-1200 BC), The Walters Art Museum
The mysterious cones were not symbolic illusions, then, but actual hats. Research is ongoing, but the discovery will help Egyptologists learn the meaning and function of these domes, which until now were believed to have existed only in paintings and sculptures.
So, in honor of New Year’s Eve , here’s a round up of 16 contemporary artists and sculptors who have made various works of art in which the iconic cone-shaped “party hat” appears. I took a few liberties in the sense that some included are dunce caps and Will Cotton’s are edible creations rendered in paint – I hope you don’t mind.
Party Hat Paintings
Jeff Koons
above: Jeff Koons, ‘Party Hat’, 1995-97, oil on canvas, 114 3/8 x 127
Kathi Olivas :
Kathi Olivas, The Spectator
above left: Regenerate; above right: Girl with Cat
above: conjoined rabbit boys
above left: upside down boy; above right: boy with braces
above: Bird sculptures by Kathi Olivas
Mark Ryden:
above: Jajo, Patron Saint of Clowns, 1994, Oil on Panel, 15″ x 20″ and detail
Will Cotton:
above: CROQUEMBOUCHE, 2010, oil on linen, 54 x 39 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Mary Boone Gallery
above: KATY, 2010, oil on linen, 34 x 24 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Mary Boone Gallery
above: RIBBON CANDY PORTRAIT, 2008, oil on linen, 36 x 32 inches
above: COTTON CANDY HANNAH, 2009, oil on linen, 47 x 32 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Mary Boone Gallery
Matthew Feyld: (whose work is now much more abstract and quite different than these)
above left: Untitled (Grey Shirt Party Hat), Acrylic on wood panel; above right:Untitled (Party Hat and sword)
Dog Party of Canada
custom oil painting
oil painting (custom)
Party Hat Sculptures
Sarah Troper:
above: Party Hats, 2007. steel, elastic cord, 11.5cm x 10cm x 16cm (each)
Kate Mitchell:
above: Social Sculpture, 29kg Party Hat, 2011, Lead, archival quality watercolour paper, 26 cm x 9 cm radius
Amanda Louise Spayd:
above: little mixed media handmade creatures (dustbunnies) donning party hats
sculptures by Amanda Louise Spayd
Darla Jackson
limited edition sculptures (also available in bronze)
above: Surprise Party (Birds), 2009,Gypsum Cement, 4”h x 5”w x 5”d
above: Surprise Party (Crow), 2009, Gypsum Cement, 6”h x 5”w x 12”d
above: Surprise Party (Rabbit), 2009, Gypsum Cement, 9”h x 6”w x 12”d
above: Surprise Party (Cat), 2009, Gypsum Cement, 15”h x 20”w x 14”d
above: Surprise Party (Raccoon), 2009, Polyurethane Resin, 14”h x 18”w x 12”d
above: Surprise Party (Fawn), 2009, Polyurethane Resin, 16”h x 18”w x 8”d
above: Fish out of Water…, 2008, Mixed Media, 24″h x 72″w x 36″d
Darla Jackson’s etsy store
Cart Before The Horse – Contemporary folk art by Dylan and Jo :
above: handmade dolls and skellies, complete with party hats
Flora Art Studio :
above: Chimerical Six Series, low fire clay, 12″h x 6″w x 6″ d (30.5cm x 15cm x 15cm), each sold separately
above: Algorithm Dunce Ghost Baby, low fire clay, 11″ x 4.5″ x 3.5″ (28 x 11 x 9.5 cm).
above: Mulligan, low fire clay, 14″h x 6″w x 6″ d (35.5cm x 15cm x 15cm)
Jeffrey Augustine Songco :
above: Party Hats, 2011, cotton and paper in locked case 6″ x 4″ x 4″ (15cm x 10cm x 10cm), edition of 83
above: party hat installation, 2011
Kimberley Henessey:
above: BANG! parade of fools (detail) , art installation, foam and paper, 2009
above: BANG! parade of fools , art installation, mixed media, 2009
Jackie Mock :
above: Pigeon, 2010, taxidermy pigeon with party hat constructed of paper, yarn, and acrylic paint
Kristin Mariano:
Redshift leather and feather party hats by Kristin Mariano
above: Selling in sets of three at Rick Owen’s New York store were these wonderful back leather party hats and white feather party hats.
You can purchase the leather one here
And some Party Hat links for you:
There’s even a “Keep Calm” poster available of which you can customize the color:
buy it here, no longer available
Ugly Dolls party hats by David Horvath:
buy them here
…and the prettiest party hats you can buy. Bejeweled party hats by Sereni and Shentel:
Sereni and Shentel party hat headbands
No longer available as hats, they now sell them on headbands as hair accessories here
and lastly, an easy to follow tutorial to make your own.
Happy New Year!