Hanging Basket

Gary Trentham, Hanging Basket, n.d., coiled linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Theodore Cohen in memory of his mother and her sisters: Rose Melmon Cohen, Blanche Melmon, Mary Melmon Greenberg and Fanny Melmon Liberman, 1998.122.24, © Gary Trentham
Gary Trentham, Hanging Basket, n.d., coiled linen, 47 3⁄4 x 4 3⁄4 in. (121.3 x 12.1 cm) diam., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Theodore Cohen in memory of his mother and her sisters: Rose Melmon Cohen, Blanche Melmon, Mary Melmon Greenberg and Fanny Melmon Liberman, 1998.122.24, © Gary Trentham

Artwork Details

Title
Hanging Basket
Artist
Date
n.d.
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
47 3⁄4 x 4 3⁄4 in. (121.3 x 12.1 cm) diam.
Copyright
© Gary Trentham
Credit Line
Gift of Theodore Cohen in memory of his mother and her sisters: Rose Melmon Cohen, Blanche Melmon, Mary Melmon Greenberg and Fanny Melmon Liberman
Mediums
Mediums Description
coiled linen
Classifications
Object Number
1998.122.24
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.122.24

Artwork Description

Gary Trentham won a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts while teaching at Auburn University in the late 1970s. He took a summer off from teaching and devoted his time to making baskets that were meant to be suspended in the air. Hanging Basket, which is constructed from strips of linen, was one of a series inspired by Native American arrow quivers. The fabric resembles dried strands of grass that would not stand up well to the sharp tip of an arrow, suggesting that Trentham did not intend for his basket to be used. The long, slender form evokes a cocoon, as if something might be growing within the mass of tiny waving filaments.

Works by this artist (15 items)

View all artworks
William H. Rau, Full Moon, n.d., albumen silver print mounted to stereographic card, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.245
Full Moon
Artist
Daten.d.
albumen silver print mounted to stereographic card
Not on view
William H. Rau, Admiral Dewey, Hero of Manila, after 1898, albumen silver prints mounted to stereographic card, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.242
Admiral Dewey, Hero of Manila
Artist
Dateafter 1898
albumen silver prints mounted to stereographic card
Not on view
William H. Rau, Sampson's Fleet. A Gunner of the "Iowa", 1898, albumen silver print mounted to stereographic card, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.238
Sampson’s Fleet. A Gunner of the ​“Iowa”
Artist
Date1898
albumen silver print mounted to stereographic card
Not on view
William H. Rau, Owasco Lake, Cascade Glen, for the Lehigh Valley Railroad, 1899, albumen silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1994.91.151
Owasco Lake, Cascade Glen, for the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Artist
Date1899
albumen silver print
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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David Haxton, Vertical and Receding Lines, 1974, 16mm film, black and white, silent; 05:30 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2011.15.2, © 1974, David Haxton
Vertical and Receding Lines
Artist
Date1974
16mm film, black and white, silent; 05:30 minutes
Not on view
Hans Breder, Quanta, 1967, single-channel video, color, silent; 03:46 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 2013.50.4, © 1967, Hans Breder
Quanta
Artist
Date1967
single-channel video, color, silent; 03:46 minutes
Not on view
Image Not Available
Eureka
Artist
Date1974
16 mm Plus-X print, black and white, silent; 30:00 minutes
Not on view
Carolee Schneemann, Viet Flakes, 1965, 16mm film transferred to video, toned black & white, sound; 07:00 minutes, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Ford Motor Company, 2008.21.9, © 1965 Carolee Schneemann Foundation. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix, NY
Viet Flakes
Artist
Date1965
16mm film transferred to video, toned black & white, sound; 07:00 minutes
Not on view