The Figure Five in Gold at the Met

What's particularly striking about Charles Demuth's 1928 painting, The Figure Five in Gold, is its use of words, taken from a poem by his friend William Carlos Williams. (Well, the colors, perspective, and depth of field are pretty great too.) Legend has it that WCW wrote The Great Figure after glimpsing a five on a fire truck as it zoomed up Ninth Avenue. In other words, it's a painting about a poem that's about seeing the number five.