Half Woman, Quarter Bird

Copied Howard Newman, Half Woman, Quarter Bird, 1974-1975, bronze/cast, assembled and screwed, 24 1⁄8 x 13 x 20 1⁄4 in. (61.3 x 33.0 x 51.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.68, © 1975, Howard Newman

Artwork Details

Title
Half Woman, Quarter Bird
Artist
Date
1974-1975
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
24 1⁄8 x 13 x 20 1⁄4 in. (61.3 x 33.0 x 51.4 cm.)
Copyright
© 1975, Howard Newman
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze/cast, assembled and screwed
Classifications
Keywords
  • Fantasy
  • Dress — accessory — hat
Object Number
1986.6.68
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.6.68

Artwork Description

Howard Newman casts elements from machines and assembles them into interlocking geometric shapes that resemble human figures. Influenced by the cubists and Italian futurists of the early twentieth century, Newman transforms their celebration of speed and mechanization into reflective statements about modern life. The mechanomorphic figure of Half Woman, Quarter Bird fuses images from nature and industry, offering a cautionary note that speaks to the potential for technological entrapment.


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014
Luce Center Label

Howard Newman often assembled his sculptures from cast machine parts. Half Woman, Quarter Bird was built up from tubes and mechanical parts to create an ominous figure with the head of a woman and the shoulders of a bird. The piece fuses together nature and technology to conjure up a gruesome creature and sinister weapon at the same time.