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HOT, HOT, HOT
Illegible
24\" x 18\", oil on canvas
Anonymous donation, December 2012

A comely woman in a fringed bikini stands unfazed by leeches and engulfing flames: metaphorical reminders of the enigmatic hazards of feminine beauty.

Pop Culture

Mediocre masterpieces

Where can you find the worst art in the world? On the walls at the Museum of Bad Art, a Massachusetts gallery devoted to displaying work that's not pleasing to the eye.

/ 19 PHOTOS

'Mana Lisa'

Where can you find the worst art in the world? Chances are, it's on the walls at the Museum of Bad Art, a Massachusetts gallery devoted to displaying work that's not pleasing to the eye.

A cross-gender interpretation of the Da Vinci classic, the 'Mana Lisa' was donated to the musem by the artist in 2002. The subject's nose strikes nimbly, offsetting the dialogue between the foreground and profoundly varnished background.

UN POISSON MORT
Anonymous
19\" x 21\", oil on canvas
Purchased by M. Frank at a thrift store
Boston, MA, 2012

The viewer is left to ponder the cause, as well as the artist's decision to memorialize this fish's demise.

'Un poisson mort'

With this painting by an anonymous artist, the viewer is left to ponder the cause, as well as the artist's decision to memorialize this fish's demise.

HOT, HOT, HOT
Illegible
24\" x 18\", oil on canvas
Anonymous donation, December 2012

A comely woman in a fringed bikini stands unfazed by leeches and engulfing flames: metaphorical reminders of the enigmatic hazards of feminine beauty.

'Hot, hot, hot'

In this work, donated anonymously, a comely woman in a fringed bikini stands unfazed by leeches and engulfing flames: metaphorical reminders of the enigmatic hazards of feminine beauty.

COULDA BEEN MARILYN TODAY
Roger Hanson, 2003
20\"x16\", acrylic on canvas
Donted by the artist
MOBA #196 

A little too old to have hair so blond and lips so red. The darkness rises and threatens to overwhelm.
Are those fading dreams around her?

'Couldabeen Marilyn Today'

This 2003 acrilyc painting, done by Roger Hanson, imagines what Marilyn Monroe might have looked like today - if she bore no resemblance to her bombshell self. A little too old to have hair so blond and lips so red. The darkness rises and threatens to overwhelm. Are those fading dreams around her?

MAMA AND BABE
Sarah Irani
24\"x18\", acrylic on canvas
Donated by the artist
MOBA #59

The flesh tones bring to mind the top shelf liquors of a border bistro.
The artist flirts with caricature and captures the features of Mama's face which reminds us of a former first lady. The upright marionettish pose of the babe hints that the early bond between mother and child is as formal as it is familiar.

'Mama and babe'

The flesh tones in this work bring to mind the top shelf liquors of a border bistro. Artist Sarah Irani flirts with caricature and captures the features of Mama's face, which remind us of a former first lady. The upright marionettish pose of the babe hints that the early bond between mother and child is as formal as it is familiar.

GERM OF AN IDEA
Anonymous
22\"x36\" Oil on Canvas
purchased by M. Frank at a Boston thrift store, May, 2008
MOBA #445

'Germ of an idea'

This anonymous and eerie painting was found by the Museum of Bad Art curator Mark Frank at a Boston thrift store in 2008.

BAT HAIR DAY
Liz Flint, 2000
20\"x16\", oil on canvas
Purchased in Cambridge, MA and
Donated by Larry, October, 2012
Happy Halloween!

'Bat hair day'

This painting, purchased in 2000, was donated by its owners in 2012 - it might have proved too spooky for their home. Happy Halloween!

A NEW DAY
Will
23\" x 19\", oil on canvas
Received as a gift from the artist at the Vince Lombardi Rest Area, Ridgefield, NJ, July, 1984, and donated by Fay Pelloth, August, 2012

The volcanoes belch their final eructation as the morning sun lights up the sky, portending better days ahead.

'A new day'

The volcanoes belch their final eructation as the morning sun lights up the sky, portending better days ahead.

LOOK MA, NO HANDS!
Anonymous
14\"x11\", oil on artboard
Purchased at a church fair in Hancock, ME
Donated by Priscilla Ellis and Robert Crabtree, May, 2012

While the image has a Norman Rockwellian charm, it is probably best appreciated as an illustration of the creative devices to which artists sometimes resort to avoid the difficult challenge of painting human hands.

'Look Ma, no hands!'

While the image (originally purchased at a church fair), has a Norman Rockwellian charm, it is probably best appreciated as an illustration of the creative devices to which artists sometimes resort to avoid the difficult challenge of painting human hands.

BIRDBRAIN
L. Greselin
24\"x18\", oik on canvas board
Purchased at a yard sale in Natick, MA
and donated by Janet Macy, March, 2010

Unlike the sacrificial canaries in a coal mine, the seagulls in this metaphorical painting are free to leave when they sense conditions are deteriorating.

'Birdbrain'

Unlike the sacrificial canaries in a coal mine, the seagulls in this metaphorical painting are free to leave when they sense conditions are deteriorating.

MALINOVKA
(Robin)
Tatyana Lyarson (Kazan, Russia) 1998
40cm x 50cm, oil on canvas
Purchased by M. Frank at a Boston thrift store
January, 2012

The young woman's head is slightly atilt under the weight of impossibly orange hair in this idyllic tableau. A tiny songbird has alighted from the dwarf tree bearing two green apples onto a one dimensional chair, contemplating the coiffure as a potential new home.c

'Malinovka'

The young woman's head is slightly atilt under the weight of impossibly orange hair in this idyllic tableau. A tiny songbird has alighted from the dwarf tree bearing two green apples onto a one dimensional chair, contemplating the coiffure as a potential new home.

EL BESO DE LOS SIAMES
(The Kiss of Siamese Twins)
Illegible (Cuban) 2008
60cm x 40cm, oil on canvas
Purchased in a market in Havana, November, 2011

A woman's unusually large well-manicured hand emerges from the foreground flowers in a tender caress in this touching portrayal of sororal love between beautifully coiffed conjoined twins. Given the inordinate amount of time they spend together, it is auspicious they get along so well; always seeing eye to eye.

'El beso de los siames'

Translated as "The kiss of Siamese twins," this painting was purchased in a market in Havana, Cuba in 2011.

A woman's unusually large well-manicured hand emerges from the foreground flowers in a tender caress in this touching portrayal of love between beautifully coiffed conjoined twins. Given the inordinate amount of time they spend together, it is auspicious they get along so well; always seeing eye to eye.

VANISHING WOMAN
Hannah Hamilton
18\"X24\", acrylic on canvas
Purchased by M. Frank at at Boston thrift store, September, 2011

The artist combined disparate techniques such as the \"vanishing point\" (a perspective device developed in the fifteenth century Renaissance) and \"Pollockian drips\" (a mid-twentieth century abstract paint application method) to portray a womanly apparition in a tulip field.

'Vanishing woman'

Artist Hannah Hamilton combined disparate techniques such as the "vanishing point" (a perspective device developed in the fifteenth century Renaissance) and "Pollockian drips" (a mid-twentieth century abstract paint application method) to portray a womanly apparition in a tulip field. This was purchased by Mark Frank at a Boston thrift store in 2011.

WINGED PIXIE
Otto
24\" x 48\", acrylic on canvas
Donated by Sarah Derven
MOBA #229

Otto depicts a diminutive dancing pixie, taut with energy, desperately attempting to flee an over active mind. The facial expression recalls a deer caught in the headlights, and the limbs are stretched to twig-like hands, ready to snap. The artist captures the tension of frantic activity coupled with indecision in this portrait of an incredible shrinking woman.

'Winged pixie'

Otto depicts a diminutive dancing pixie, taut with energy, desperately attempting to flee an over active mind. The facial expression recalls a deer caught in the headlights, and the limbs are stretched to twig-like hands, ready to snap. The artist captures the tension of frantic activity coupled with indecision in this portrait of an incredible shrinking woman.

BADMINTON ANYONE?
Anonymous
16\"x12\", oil on canvas
Purchased by Mike Frank at a Boston thrift shop
March, 2011

The genteel social elite in 18th and 19th Century Europe enjoyed playing badminton at lawn parties. The handsome woman depicted in this portrait (based on Jean Baptiste Simeon's 1737 painting GIRL WITH SHUTTLECOCK) holds a birdie featuring colorful feathers and, inexplicably, a modern racquet more suited for The Championships of the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon.

'Badminton Anyone?'

The genteel social elite in 18th and 19th Century Europe enjoyed playing badminton at lawn parties. The handsome woman depicted in this portrait (based on Jean Baptiste Simeon's 1737 painting "Girl with Shuttlecock") holds a birdie featuring colorful feathers and, inexplicably, a modern racquet more suited for The Championships of the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon.

TEARS OF A CLOWN
M. Hood
14\"x10\", oil on canvas
Purchased my Mike Frank at a Boston thrift store
June, 2011

The artist's deft technique makes it abundantly clear that his funny hat and painted smile can not disguise the sadness of this young boy whose grotesquely dysmorphic ears most likely destine him to an itinerant life in traveling tent shows.

'Tears of a clown'

The artist's deft technique makes it abundantly clear that his funny hat and painted smile can not disguise the sadness of this young boy whose grotesquely dysmorphic ears most likely destine him to an itinerant life in traveling tent shows.

'Flying forks'

Seemingly oblivious to whatever is going on above and behind her, the woman in this painting seems concerned about the mental state of her partner, who maintains a death grip on a dismembered steering wheel. While the significance of the cross in the background is unclear, this image seems to be visual representation of Yogi Berra’s advice, “When you’re driving an imaginary car and you see a flying fork, take it.”

MAN IN THE MIRROR?
Geraldine \"Jere\" Deuro, 2009
16\"x12\", oil on canvas
Donated by Jason Deuro,
Buffalo, NY, August, 2010


His eyes closed and long hair blowing in a wind-machine generated windstorm, the late Michael Jackson exudes emotion in this lovingly executed portrait. It is difficult to ascertain which, or whose, hand is holding the microphone in this heartfelt performance.

'Man in the mirror?'

His eyes closed and long hair blowing in a wind-machine generated windstorm, the late Michael Jackson exudes emotion in this lovingly executed portrait. It is difficult to ascertain which, or whose, hand is holding the microphone in this heartfelt performance.

'Ronan the pug'

Ronan could hardly see straight after lapping up all the spilled eggnog at a holiday party, but brought tears to everyone's eyes with his clear tenor rendition of "Danny Boy."

The artist’s affection for her dog far outstrips her artistic skill. Paint is slapped on the canvas with random brushstrokes, creating matted, impossible fur. Done in such a hurry that the canine anatomy was not even considered, the artist still captures Ronan’s playful sweetness.

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