The Toy Shop is typical of the painted box constructions that Patricia Nix has made since 1972. The small scale of the work evokes memories of a child’s dollhouse. Moreover, The Toy Shop, constructed from discarded materials, is composed from actual toys and objects that carry the memory of their former uses. Nix states that she likes to use real objects from everyday life to construct her imaginative works because they help make ​“dreams become more of a reality.”

“I want every viewer to have deeply personal emotional reactions because the … toys, cards, etc. are part of everyone’s experience.” Patricia Nix, quoted in Southwest Art, July 1979

Collection of Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Noret