Westermann’s Table

H. C. Westermann, Westermann's Table, 1966, Douglas-fir plywood, Masonite, leather-bound books, bolt, brass nut, paint, and graphite, 44 x 23 x 23 ¹⁄₂ in. (111.8 x 58.4 x 59.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2002.51

Artwork Details

Title: Westermann’s Table
Artist: H. C. Westermann
Date: 1966
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 44 x 23 x 23 ¹⁄₂ in. (111.8 x 58.4 x 59.7 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums: paint
graphite
hardware
fir
masonite
book
Mediums Description: Douglas-fir plywood, Masonite, leather-bound books, bolt, brass nut, paint, and graphite
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Object — furniture — table
Object — written matter — book
Object Number: 2002.51
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2002.51

Artwork Description

Westermann was a short, muscular veteran of World War II and Korea whose comic sculptures showed his anger at America's militarism and the lies of politicians. In Westermann's Table, institutional gray paint coats the leaves of books on state laws and clipper ships, and a large bolt secures the volumes, suggesting a locked-down history of the nation. The pressure of the bolt squeezes the books into the plywood pedestal, creating a surreal portrait of the artist as an angry and well-informed man ready to explode.

Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006