The Curtain

George Segal, The Curtain, 1974, mixed media: plaster, glass and painted wood, 84 1⁄2 x 39 1⁄4 x 35 1⁄2 in. (214.6 x 99.7 x 90.2 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1978.62, (c) 1978, George Segal

Artwork Details

Title
The Curtain
Artist
Date
1974
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
84 1⁄2 x 39 1⁄4 x 35 1⁄2 in. (214.6 x 99.7 x 90.2 cm.)
Copyright
(c) 1978, George Segal
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
mixed media: plaster, glass and painted wood
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure female — nude
  • Architecture Interior — detail — window
Object Number
1978.62
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1978.62

Artwork Description

George Segal found the themes for his plaster-cast figures in accidental glimpses of other people's lives. In this piece, the woman's poetic gesture of parting a curtain echoes Segal's sculptural process, as he delicately captures the intimate details of another person's body. The artist wrapped his models in plaster-soaked gauze and used either the rough external form or, as in The Curtain, cast a second figure from the impression inside the casing. His technique demanded that his sitters keep their eyes shut, and the resulting faces remain impassive while the body alone communicates. The contrasts of shadows falling on white plaster and the sense of a fleeting moment frozen in time reflect Segal's reverence for the "miraculous" quality of "ordinary life and ordinary space."

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Artist
Unidentified
Dateearly 20th century
carved and painted wood and plaster, synthetic fiber and buttons, wool cotton, feathers, and shell
Not on view