Structured Form

Copied Lillian Elliott, Structured Form, about 1988, rattan, coconut palm midribs, and waxed linen thread, 39 x 12 1⁄2 x 10 in. (99.1 x 31.8 x 25.4 cm), 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, 1998.122.7

Artwork Details

Title
Structured Form
Artist
Date
about 1988
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
39 x 12 1⁄2 x 10 in. (99.1 x 31.8 x 25.4 cm)
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
rattan, coconut palm midribs, and waxed linen thread
Classifications
Object Number
1998.122.7
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1998.122.7

Artwork Description

In Floor Basket, the artist wove just enough of a structure to enclose an empty space. It is an example of Lillian Elliott's desire to create objects that appeared to be drawn in the air. The gestural strands of rattan at the top suggest the organic energy of the materials, as though the fibers were at an unfinished state of weaving themselves into a vessel. After Elliott died of cancer, her collaborator Pat Hickman wove a similar basket, Lost in Translation, to memorialize the creative energy of her friend.