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Showing 26 results for wendell castle
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Wendell Castle
born Emporia, KS 1932-died Scottsville, NY 2018

Born in Emporia, Kansas, Wendell Castle earned a B.F.A. degree in sculpture in 1958 and an M.F.A. in industrial design in 1961 at the University of Kansas.

Person
Media - 1989.68 - SAAM-1989.68_2 - 118457
Throwback Thursday: Wendell Castle’s Ghost Clock
It's Throwback Thursday! And we at Eye Level have decided it's a great opportunity to bring back some of our interesting posts from the past. After the incredibly successful run of the Renwick Gallery's WONDER exhibition, we wanted to highlight some of our works from SAAM's permanent collection.
Blog post
This is a photo inside the Renwick Gallery of artist Wendell Castle standing next to "Ghost Clock"
Wendell Castle: Timeless
Master woodworker, furniture maker, and artist Wendell Castle died on January 20, at the age of 85. During his long and illustrious career, he helped define and redefine craft furniture in America.
Blog post
Wendell Castle, Music Stand, 1975, walnut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1975.168
Music Stand
1975

Music Stand is one of Wendell Castle’s biomorphic pieces of the 1970s that achieved, in his words, “a sense of delicate balance . . .

Artwork
Wendell Castle, Coffee Table, 1958, American walnut and padauk, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Ruhe family in memory of Dr. Edward Lehman Ruhe, 1993.24
Artwork
Wendell Castle, Ghost Clock, 1985, bleached Honduras mahogany, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program, 1989.68, © 1985, Wendell Castle
Ghost Clock
1985

At first glance Ghost Clock appears to be a grandfather clock hidden under a white sheet. However, a closer look reveals a masterful deception: this entire sculpture was hand-carved from a single block of laminated mahogany.

Artwork
Media - 1992.115 - SAAM-1992.115_1 - 11618
Right at Home: American Studio Furniture
From elegant and streamlined to bright and bold, the designs in "Right at Home: American Studio Furniture" highlight the originality, craftsmanship and personalities of studio furniture artists.
Exhibition
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Studio Furniture
The eighty-four pieces of studio furniture owned by the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum constitute one of the largest assemblages of American studio furniture in the nation. Three former administrators—Lloyd Herman, Michael Monroe, and Kenneth Trapp—amassed a seminal collection that samples studio furniture’s great diversity. From the carefully crafted stools of Tage Frid to the art deco chest painted by Rob Womack, from the one-of-a-kind Ghost Clock sculpture by Wendell Castle to the limited production stool by David Ebner, the collection highlights the astonishing variety of the American studio furniture movement.
Publication
Media - 1991.172A-P - SAAM-1991.172A-P_2 - 133526
50 Things about OBJECTS: USA at 50
Public programs coordinator Gloria Kenyon revisits the influential Objects: USA exhibition on its 50th anniversary
Blog post
Media - 2015.17 - SAAM-2015.17_1 - 118050
Connections: Contemporary Craft at the Renwick Gallery
July 1, 2016 - February 20, 2018
This summer the permanent collection returns to the Renwick Gallery with a dynamic new presentation of 80+ objects celebrating craft as a discipline and an approach to living differently in the modern world.
Exhibition
Media - 1989.68 - SAAM-1989.68_2 - 118457
The Best of Ask Joan of Art: The Ghost Clock
This post is part of an ongoing series on Eye Level: The Best of Ask Joan of Art. Question: At the museum's Renwick Gallery, I saw a grandfather clock covered in a white cloth, but I can't remember the artist or title of this work.
Blog post
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Contemporary Craft and Decorative Arts
The museum’s collection of contemporary American craft is considered one of the finest in the United States.
Highlight
Media - 1989.68 - SAAM-1989.68_2 - 118457
Ghosts and Artisans
When art touches and powerfully shapes someone’s life, it always makes for a good story. But it’s not often that one hears such testimony about work made as recently as 1985. We’re happy our Renwick Gallery could be the conduit.
Blog post
Sculpture that shows gold skeleton hands reaching around a gold skull that is wearing rose-colored glasses.
Are You Feeling Spooky or Soulful This Season?
Choose how to celebrate the season with two different ways to explore SAAM's collection
Blog post
A Sound Take on Craft
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a special project here at SAAM in which Advanced Placement Art History students from the Holton-Arms and Landon Schools here in Washington, D.C. visited our Renwick Gallery of American Craft. Their assignment was to research one of our artworks and produce a podcast about the piece they chose.
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