Direct Carving

Media - 2004.20 - SAAM-2004.20_1 - 64748

Selma Burke, Untitled (Woman and Child), ca. 1950, Smithsonian American Art Museum

Spontaneous! Truthful! Liberating! Direct carvers often used such words to describe their unconventional method of sculpting, in which an artist works directly on a piece of stone or wood as opposed to with a model, cast, or preconceived design. Direct Carving includes twenty-four sculptures from across the twentieth century, nearly all of which are drawn from the museum’s permanent collection, that showcase this method.

Description

For centuries, sculptors modeled a design in clay or wax and then worked with foundries or professional carvers to reproduce the image in bronze or marble via industrial or mechanical means. Direct carvers rejected this method, instead choosing to work spontaneously, cutting directly into stone and wood and preserving the harmony between those materials and the resulting sculpted forms. Sculptures made of reclaimed wood from old furniture, stones from demolished buildings, and fieldstones from farms are all found in this installation. In upending academic tradition, these artists created intensely personal works of art.

The “truth of materials,” or the idea that the inherent properties of the raw material should remain apparent in the finished work of art, was a core belief among direct carvers. Many of these artists saw nature as a collaborator, selecting materials with distinct physical properties—such as veins in stone or burls in wood—and allowing these elements to suggest designs and shapes. For some direct carvers, “liberating” forms was an almost mystic practice.

The direct carving movement gained momentum in the United States after 1915 and flourished until the mid-twentieth century, attracting men and women from diverse backgrounds who looked to a wide range of influences, including African, Native American, Southeast Asian, and folk art.

Direct Carving is organized by Karen Lemmey, sculpture curator, with generous support from Lucy S. Rhame.

Visiting Information

February 1, 2015 July 12, 2020
Open Daily, 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m
Free Admission

Online Gallery

Media - 1986.65.241 - SAAM-1986.65.241_1 - 67492
Rabbit
Dateca. 1940
carved limestone
On view
Media - 1984.43 - SAAM-1984.43_1 - 60459
Fern
Date1981
stone
On view
Media - 1986.6.85 - SAAM-1986.6.85_1 - 63548
Torso
Date1932
granite
On view
Media - 2014.35.1 - SAAM-2014.35.1_1 - 116895
Atlantis
Date1990
black Belgian marble
On view
Media - 1960.8.2 - SAAM-1960.8.2_1 - 56308
Falcon
Date1937
marble
On view
Media - 1986.6.20 - SAAM-1986.6.20_1 - 9415
Continuite
Date1958
marble
On view
Media - 1968.26 - SAAM-1968.26_1 - 60450
Judith
Date1960
rosewood on wood base
On view
Media - 1972.171 - SAAM-1972.171_2 - 65868
Elegance
Dateca. 1927
marble
On view
Media - 1971.447.37 - SAAM-1971.447.37_1 - 56297
Mexican Beggar
Dateca. 1935-1939
marble
On view
Media - 1951.11.3 - SAAM-1951.11.3_2 - 116955
Baboon
Dateca. 1930
limestone
On view
Media - 1964.4.4 - SAAM-1964.4.4_1 - 56965
Head of a Young Man
Date1940
marble
On view
Media - 1971.76 - SAAM-1971.76_1 - 66895
Victory
Date1944
French marble
Not on view
Media - 2014.35.1 - SAAM-2014.35.1_1 - 116895
Atlantis
Date1990
black Belgian marble
On view
Media - 2014.35.2 - SAAM-2014.35.2_1 - 116926
Silence
Date1970
oak
Not on view