Azores I

Copied Fritz Bultman, Azores I, 1959, cast and welded bronze on concrete base, 71 x 45 1⁄8 x 9 1⁄8 in. (180.3 x 114.5 x 23.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection, 1980.137.15

Artwork Details

Title
Azores I
Artist
Date
1959
Location
Dimensions
71 x 45 1⁄8 x 9 1⁄8 in. (180.3 x 114.5 x 23.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection
Mediums
Mediums Description
cast and welded bronze on concrete base
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1980.137.15
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1980.137.15

Artwork Description

Fritz Bultman started drawing in 1932 when the artist Morris Graves stayed in his family’s mansion. Graves, a family friend, took the thirteen-year-old Bultman to Audubon Park in New Orleans, where together they sketched many kinds of birds for hours at a time. The fluid shapes and graceful movements of cranes, egrets, and pelicans continued to inspire Bultman until his death in 1985. Azores I evokes the silhouette of a flying bird, and the title may refer to the large Mediterranean shearwater, a bird that migrates to the Azores Islands during the winter.