Untitled

John Lewis, Untitled, 1975, glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Diane and Sandy Besser, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2001.71.18
John Lewis, Untitled, 1975, glass, 77 18 in. diam. (17.718.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Diane and Sandy Besser, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2001.71.18

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled
Artist
Date
1975
Dimensions
77 18 in. diam. (17.718.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Diane and Sandy Besser, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Mediums Description
glass
Classifications
Object Number
2001.71.18

Artwork Description

Inspired by America's exploration of outer space in the 1960s and 1970s, John Lewis created a series of landscape vessels decorated with clouds, waves, moons, and other geologic forms. Lewis called these pieces his "glass moon bottles" and likens the creative process to painting with glass. To create each design, Lewis fused glass into a sphere form and moved the fused glass around on the surface. Over the course of the series, on which Lewis worked for approximately nine years, his decorations became more sophisticated as he was able to create ever-finer lines on the surface. Lewis tailored the design of each landscape according to the form of his vessel.

Works by this artist (6 items)

Lee Gatch, Study for Mural, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania Post Office, 1941, oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Internal Revenue Service through the General Services Administration
, 1962.8.70
Study for Mural, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania Post Office
Date1941
oil on canvas mounted on fiberboard
Not on view
Lee Gatch, Herodiae, 1960, oil, ink and collage on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., 1969.47.12
Herodiae
Date1960
oil, ink and collage on canvas
Not on view
Lee Gatch, Sketch for Greenhouse, 1950, charcoal, brush and ink, and ink wash on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Max Kahn, 1995.23.3
Sketch for Greenhouse
Date1950
charcoal, brush and ink, and ink wash on paperboard
Not on view
Sketch for Greenhouse
Date1950
charcoal and ink on paperboard
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

FALL OF JERUSALEM 70 A.D.
Dateca. 1972
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view
Gene Davis, Untitled, 1956, pencil and watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Florence Coulson Davis, 2000.43.54
Untitled
Date1956
pencil and watercolor on paper
Not on view
Everett Shinn, Untitled, 1927, pencil, watercolor, and carbon pencil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jerome Canter, 1976.92.1
Untitled
Date1927
pencil, watercolor, and carbon pencil on paperboard
Not on view
Chaim Gross, Untitled (3 female nudes), 1975, watercolor and pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation, 1990.45.25
Untitled (3 female nudes)
Date1975
watercolor and pencil on paper
Not on view