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
Copied Gary Trentham, Hanging Basket, n.d., coiled linen, 47 344 34 in. (121.312.1 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
Date
n.d.
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
47 344 34 in. (121.312.1 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

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.