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Polly Adams Sutton, Facing the Unexpected, 2013, western red cedar bark, ash, spruce root, and coated copper wire, basket 1: 6 1⁄4 x 14 5⁄8 x 12 3⁄8 in. basket 2: 7 x 11 7⁄8 x 9 1⁄4 in. basket 3: 7 3⁄8 x 12 7⁄8 x 8 5⁄8 in. basket 4: 5 7⁄8 x 10 1⁄2 x 8 3⁄4 in. basket 5: 4 3⁄8 x 7 1⁄2 x 7 5⁄8 in. basket 6: 4 3⁄8 x 6 1⁄4 x 5 1⁄4 in. basket 7: 4 3⁄8 x 5 3⁄8 x 5 1⁄8 in. basket 8: 3 3⁄4 x 5 x 4 1⁄4 in. basket 9: 4 x 4 1⁄2 x 4 5⁄8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mary Anne Fray and museum purchase through the Decorative Arts and Crafts Endowment, 2021.52A-I, © Polly Adams Sutton. Photo by Tom Grotta, courtesy of browngrotta arts
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Facing the Unexpected
- Artist
- Date
- 2013
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- basket 1: 6 1⁄4 x 14 5⁄8 x 12 3⁄8 in. basket 2: 7 x 11 7⁄8 x 9 1⁄4 in. basket 3: 7 3⁄8 x 12 7⁄8 x 8 5⁄8 in. basket 4: 5 7⁄8 x 10 1⁄2 x 8 3⁄4 in. basket 5: 4 3⁄8 x 7 1⁄2 x 7 5⁄8 in. basket 6: 4 3⁄8 x 6 1⁄4 x 5 1⁄4 in. basket 7: 4 3⁄8 x 5 3⁄8 x 5 1⁄8 in. basket 8: 3 3⁄4 x 5 x 4 1⁄4 in. basket 9: 4 x 4 1⁄2 x 4 5⁄8 in.
- Copyright
- © Polly Adams Sutton. Photo by Tom Grotta, courtesy of browngrotta arts
- Credit Line
- Gift of Mary Anne Fray and museum purchase through the Decorative Arts and Crafts Endowment
- Mediums Description
- western red cedar bark, ash, spruce root, and coated copper wire
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Object — other — basket
- Object Number
- 2021.52A-I
Artwork Description
Facing the Unexpected features several baskets woven and slumped together to form one voluminous support system. Polly Adams Sutton arduously strips cedar bark from the logged forests of the Pacific Northwest, and then she weaves to her own rhythm as she goes. “There is no preconceived notion as to the purpose of my sculptural shapes, except perhaps a quest for pleasing curvilinear forms,” she explains. Relieved of their use, the baskets suggest the same ephemeral nature of abandoned nests.
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022
Exhibitions
May 13, 2022–April 2, 2023
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today.