(Study for Order/Disorder/Ascension/Descension)

Al Held, (Study for Order/Disorder/Ascension/Descension), 1975, pencil on paper, sheet: 20 ¹⁄₂ x 24 ³⁄₄ in. (52.1 x 62.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.49

Artwork Details

Title: (Study for Order/Disorder/Ascension/Descension)
Artist: Al Held
Date: 1975
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: sheet: 20 ¹⁄₂ x 24 ³⁄₄ in. (52.1 x 62.9 cm)
Credit Line: Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program
Mediums: pencil
Mediums Description: pencil on paper
Classifications: Drawing
Subjects: Abstract
Object Number: 1977.47.49
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1977.47.49

Artwork Description

This drawing is a study for the enormous two-part mural commissioned for the Social Security building lobby in Philadelphia. Each of the final parts of the mural measures thirteen feet high and ninety feet wide, and special canvas had to be ordered from weavers in Belgium to accommodate this scale. The artist worked out arrangements of solid and broken lines that suggest volume and perspective. He then transferred the composition to a section of the canvas and added to the sequence of visual components until the entire mural was completed.

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