Model for Caritas

Copied William King, Model for Caritas, 1978, bolted aluminum, 36 x 45 1⁄2 x 12 3⁄8 in. (91.4 x 115.5 x 31.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.38.1

Artwork Details

Title
Model for Caritas
Artist
Date
1978
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
36 x 45 1⁄2 x 12 3⁄8 in. (91.4 x 115.5 x 31.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
bolted aluminum
Classifications
Keywords
  • Figure group — female and child
  • Allegory — quality — charity
  • General Services Administration — Art-in-Architecture Program
Object Number
1979.38.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1979.38.1

Artwork Description

In 1978 the General Services Administration commissioned William King to create a sculpture for a federal building in Akron, Ohio. Caritas in Latin means “charity,” but King later changed the title of his completed sculpture to Caring to better express the idea of a friend offering a helping hand. Like many of the sculptures commissioned under GSA’s Art-in-Architecture Program, Caring was at the center of controversy regarding “wasted” tax dollars. One critic observed that Caring looked like a child had made it, but continued to say that he might get used to it, just as one gets used to seeing “beer cans along the highway.” Caring measures 22 by 32 by 6 feet and was installed on the plaza of the Federal Building in Akron, Ohio, in 1978.

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