Head of Gertrude Lawrence

Copied José de Creeft, Head of Gertrude Lawrence, 1931, ceramic and shell, 94 124 18 in. (22.911.510.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1983.72

Artwork Details

Title
Head of Gertrude Lawrence
Date
1931
Dimensions
94 124 18 in. (22.911.510.5 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Mediums
Mediums Description
ceramic and shell
Classifications
Keywords
  • Performing arts — theater — performer
  • Portrait female — Lawrence, Gertrude — head
  • Figure female — fragment — face
  • Object — other — shell
Object Number
1983.72

Artwork Description

José de Creeft frequently traveled to the island of Mallorca, off the coast of Spain. On one of his trips, he met the actress Gertrude Lawrence and carved two portraits of her. This small sculpture combines part of Lawrence's face with two shells found on one of the island's beaches. Shells are often used to symbolize femininity, and de Creeft may have been suggesting that Lawrence had a beauty and immortality similar to the goddess Venus, who in classical myth was born of the sea.