Baseball Bat

Claire Falkenstein, Baseball Bat, 1941, polychromed ash, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Claire Falkenstein McCarthy Trust, 1998.24.2
Claire Falkenstein, Baseball Bat, 1941, polychromed ash, 37 5⁄8 x 5 3⁄4 in. (95.6 x 14.6 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Claire Falkenstein McCarthy Trust, 1998.24.2

Artwork Details

Title
Baseball Bat
Artist
Date
1941
Location
Dimensions
37 5⁄8 x 5 3⁄4 in. (95.6 x 14.6 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Claire Falkenstein McCarthy Trust
Mediums
Mediums Description
polychromed ash
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
  • Object — toy — sports equipment
Object Number
1998.24.2
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.24.2

Artwork Description

Claire Falkenstein experimented with a wide variety of materials including reinforced concrete, copper tubing, wire, glass, and steel. In the early 1940s she made wooden sculptures that fragmented simple forms into pieces that could be taken apart and reassembled. Baseball Bat divides the narrow shape of a bat into several colored sections, and Fertility is composed of three painted axe handles. Both pieces disguise the original function of the objects and display Falkenstein’s interest in color and abstract form.

Works by this artist (36 items)

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Claire Falkenstein, Baseball Bat, 1941, polychromed ash, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Claire Falkenstein McCarthy Trust, 1998.24.2
Baseball Bat
Artist
Date1941
polychromed ash
On view
Claire Falkenstein, Fertility, 1941, polychromed ash, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Claire Falkenstein McCarthy Trust, 1998.24.1
Fertility
Artist
Date1941
polychromed ash
On view
Claire Falkenstein, Envelope, 1958, steel wire assemblage, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection, 1981.109.6
Envelope
Artist
Date1958
steel wire assemblage
On view
Claire Falkenstein, Floating Structure, 1958-1959, cut and brazed iron, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. Susan Morse Hilles, 1977.2.1
Floating Structure
Artist
Date1958-1959
cut and brazed iron
On view

More Artworks from the Collection

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Claire Falkenstein, Fertility, 1941, polychromed ash, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Claire Falkenstein McCarthy Trust, 1998.24.1
Fertility
Artist
Date1941
polychromed ash
On view
Unidentified, Standing Articulated Figure, ca. 1920, carved and painted sequoia and black ash, painted metal, wire, and metal hardware, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.278
Standing Articulated Figure
Artist
Unidentified
Dateca. 1920
carved and painted sequoia and black ash, painted metal, wire, and metal hardware
On view