Carl L. Schmitz, Sorrow, before 1940, terra cotta, 17 1⁄2 x 22 3⁄4 x 13 7⁄8 in. (44.5 x 57.9 x 35.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of International Business Machines Corporation, 1966.27.6
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Sorrow
- Artist
- Date
- before 1940
- Location
- Dimensions
- 17 1⁄2 x 22 3⁄4 x 13 7⁄8 in. (44.5 x 57.9 x 35.4 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of International Business Machines Corporation
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- terra cotta
- Classifications
- Subjects
- State of being — emotion — sorrow
- Figure group — female
- Object Number
- 1966.27.6
Artwork Description
Carl L. Schmitz probably modeled the small sculpture Sorrow in the late 1930s. During the Depression, many sculptors found it difficult to get work and so turned to cheaper materials, like terra-cotta, which they could fire in their own small kilns. The outbreak of World War II brought pressure to bear upon Schmitz, a German-born American citizen, and Sorrow may have been his response to the emotional effects of war.