![Dead Sea Scroll Linen V , 2023. Acrylic on linen. 67 x 62 inches (170 x 157.5 cm) [Private Collection]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c51c889cc8fed98ca1d87d2/1757669653382-EL0JWN0E4MB63542MHAJ/Gail+Rothschild_Dead+Sea+Linen+V_67x62_2023_067.jpg)
![Temple Scroll Wrapper II , 2013. Acrylic on linen. 73 x 42 inches (185.5 × 107 cm) [Collection of Mattatuck Museum. Waterbury, CT]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c51c889cc8fed98ca1d87d2/1757669655497-EEEKDIHREKT7UEDJ3UAZ/Temple+Scroll+Wrapper+II+73x42+Acrylic+on+linen+2013.jpg)
![Temple Scroll Wrapper V , 2015. Acrylic on linen. 73 x 53 inches (185.5 × 134.5 cm) [Private Collection]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5c51c889cc8fed98ca1d87d2/1757669656852-L92CJZW3K6Z7UOMILI3E/Temple-Scroll-Wrapper-V.jpg)
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The Dead Sea Linen paintings are inspired by fragments of woven linen found in the Judean desert, an ideally dry climate for the preservation of fragile textiles. For over a decade I have been studying these objects with the help of Dr. Orit Shamir, Head of Museums and Exhibitions at the Israel Antiquities Authority and the world’s expert on these ancient textiles.
As these tiny fragments unravel, they suggest coastlines seen on maps. Threads that were once held in the taut geometry that a loom imposed, the linens are loosening seeming to return to the roots and stems of the flax plants they came from. I capture these objects in the liminal state between Nature and Culture.
Many of the most evocative subjects of my paintings date from the Chalcolithic, shortly after the Neolithic or Stone Age, just at the beginning of the Bronze Age. Thus, these fragile pieces of cloth predate any identity of Jew or Muslim or Christian by 3,000 years. Held together through the millennia by chance and arid caves, they will continue to outlive us all. They are truly fascinating subjects of portraiture.
Dead Sea, 2024. Acrylic on linen. 53 x 66 inches (134.5 x 167.5 cm)
Dead Sea Scroll Linen I, 2023. Acrylic on linen. 60 x 60 inches (152.5 x 152.5 cm)
Dead Sea Scroll Linen II, 2013. Acrylic on linen. 73 x 42 inches (185.5 x 107 cm)
Dead Sea Scroll Linen III, 2024. Acrylic on linen. 73 x 58 inches (185.5 x 147.5 cm)
Dead Sea Scroll Linen V, 2023. Acrylic on linen. 67 x 62 inches (170 x 157.5 cm) [Private Collection]
Saqqara, 2024. Acrylic on canvas. 60 x 60 inches (152 x 152 cm)
Temple Scroll Wrapper II, 2013. Acrylic on linen. 73 x 42 inches (185.5 × 107 cm) [Collection of Mattatuck Museum. Waterbury, CT]
Temple Scroll Wrapper V, 2015. Acrylic on linen. 73 x 53 inches (185.5 × 134.5 cm) [Private Collection]