Marla

Irving Dominick, Marla, 1982, cut, bent, soldered, and riveted galvanized iron, 59 x 35 ¹⁄₄ x 14 ³⁄₄ in. (149.9 x 89.5 x 37.3 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1988.74.13

Artwork Details

Title: Marla
Artist: Irving Dominick
Date: 1982
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
Luce Foundation Center
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3rd Floor
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26A
Dimensions: 59 x 35 ¹⁄₄ x 14 ³⁄₄ in. (149.9 x 89.5 x 37.3 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr.
Mediums: iron
Mediums Description: cut, bent, soldered, and riveted galvanized iron
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Portrait female — unidentified — Marla
Object Number: 1988.74.13
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1988.74.13

Artwork Description

Like many folk artists, Irving Dominick applied his vocational skills to imaginative projects. This sculpture is the best surviving example of the whimsy and care Dominick, a roofer and sheet-metal worker, used to make tin representations of his ten-year-old granddaughter. She is complete with loosely crimped hair, a sunny expression, and circle skirt to match her soldered shoes.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006