Skip to main content
It’s Warm In Here, 1942-1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Polynesia
Watercolor on …
It's Warm In Here
It’s Warm In Here, 1942-1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Polynesia
Watercolor on …
It’s Warm In Here, 1942-1962 Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Polynesia Watercolor on paper; 9 × 7 in. 2018.6.37 Ann and Bill Cullen Memorial Collection

It's Warm In Here

ClassificationsPaintings-watercolors
Artist Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989)
Date1942-1962
MediumWatercolor on paper
Dimensions9 × 7 in. (22.9 × 17.8 cm)
Framed: 16 × 14 × 2 5/8 in. (40.6 × 35.6 × 6.7 cm)
Credit LineAnn and Bill Cullen Memorial Collection
Object number2018.6.37
DescriptionMerritt “Muggs” Van Sant first met Millard Sheets in the Bradbury building where he was selling insurance and Sheets was painting the building’s iconic iron stairs. Muggs was fascinated by Millard’s talent, and Sheets was about as personable a type as one comes by. The pair became fast friends, travelling together to paint—a hobby first introduced to Muggs by Sheets. Between 1942 and 1962 Sheets sent Muggs Christmas cards and gifts in the form of paintings with personalized inscriptions. After Muggs’ passing, David Starry-Sheets, Millard Sheets organized the sale of the Muggs Van Sant Collection, and it was purchased by Ann Cullen. Paintings in this collection, such as It’s Warm in Here, tend to be snapshots of Sheets’ travels abroad sent back home to his good friend Muggs. The vast majority of these paintings are portraits of young women from Mexico, Europe, Asia and the Pacific Islands painted while Sheets was serving as an arts ambassador for the U.S. State Department. This portrait of an unidentified Polynesian woman fits the standard theme perfectly. A personalized inscription is likely written on the reverse but has yet to be seen.
On View
Not on view
Collections
Philippine Girl With Rooster, 1942-1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 -1989); Philippines
Wa…
Millard Sheets
1942-1962
Lady of Merida, 1942-1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 -1989); Merida, Mexico
Watercolor on…
Millard Sheets
1942-1962
Kyoto Girl, 1958
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Japan
Watercolor on paper; 10 1/2 × …
Millard Sheets
1958
Young Japanese Mother, 1942-1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Japan
Watercolor on …
Millard Sheets
1942-1962
Maya Maiden, 1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Mexico
Watercolor on paper; 4 × 3 i…
Millard Sheets
1962
Russian Girl, 1961
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Russia
Watercolor and charcoal on …
Millard Sheets
1961
Girl by Candlelight, 1942-1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989)
Watercolor on paper; 3 …
Millard Sheets
1942-1962
Kabuki Dancer, 1942-1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Japan
Watercolor on paper; 1…
Millard Sheets
1942-1962
Hawaiian Girl, 1942-1962
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Hawaii
Watercolor on paper; …
Millard Sheets
1942-1962
Evening View from Brooklyn, 1967
Millard Sheets (American, 1907 - 1989); Brooklyn, New York
W…
Millard Sheets
1967
Ravine with Bridge, mid 20th Century
Emil Kosa Jr. (French, 1903 - 1968); California
Watercol…
Emil Kosa Jr.
mid 20th Century