WATER GATE

Miles Burkholder Carpenter, WATER GATE, 1974, carved and painted wood, metal, paper, rubber hose, rubber bands, string, sawdust, and ballpoint pen and ink, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.237
Copied Miles Burkholder Carpenter, WATER GATE, 1974, carved and painted wood, metal, paper, rubber hose, rubber bands, string, sawdust, and ballpoint pen and ink, 12 7⁄8 x 13 3⁄8 x 12 in. (32.7 x 34.0 x 30.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.237

Artwork Details

Title
WATER GATE
Artist
Date
1974
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
12 7⁄8 x 13 3⁄8 x 12 in. (32.7 x 34.0 x 30.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums
Mediums Description
carved and painted wood, metal, paper, rubber hose, rubber bands, string, sawdust, and ballpoint pen and ink
Classifications
Subjects
  • Occupation — political — president
  • Portrait male — Nixon, Richard
  • History — United States — Watergate
  • Architecture — other — well
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — gate
Object Number
1986.65.237
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.237

Artwork Description

Folk artist Miles Burkholder Carpenter carved WATER GATE in 1974, the same year that Richard Nixon resigned the presidency during the Watergate scandal, which had erupted two years earlier. Like antique toys that use sand or water to activate different mechanisms and create movement, WATER GATE invites the viewer's engagement through its moving parts. At right, Mr. Nixon stands behind a gate, holding copies of his tax returns. On the other side of the gate rest four stacked books made from cut-up copies of Reader's Digest, representing the transcripts of the Watergate hearings. Two pieces of string, when pulled, open the gate and move the president through. The well at left, where buckets carry water along a looped chain, completes the animated work.