Banquet

Ibram Lassaw, Banquet, 1961, bronze, 32 x 38 x 25 in. (81.2 x 96.4 x 63.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Harold Tager, Jr., 1975.48

Artwork Details

Title
Banquet
Artist
Date
1961
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
32 x 38 x 25 in. (81.2 x 96.4 x 63.5 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Harold Tager, Jr.
Mediums
Mediums Description
bronze
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1975.48
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1975.48

Artwork Description

Banquet is built up of thousands of droplets of metal melted over thin rods that are joined by crumpled sheets of copper. The subtle variations in color come from alloys (phosphor bronze, silicon bronze, nickel-silver) and other metals that Lassaw treated with chemicals. The nubbly surface records a process of accretion that resembles stalagmites in underground caves or underwater coral structures that grow over time. Banquet reflects Lassaw’s belief that the universe is holistic—that cosmic and microcosmic, spirit and substance are one.

Modern Masters: Midcentury Abstraction from the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2008

Works by this artist (5 items)

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Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Button Cane with Self-Portrait, mid 1990s, enamel paint on board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr., 1998.84.20
Button Cane with Self-Portrait
Artist
Datemid 1990s
enamel paint on board
On view
Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Bottlecap Figure with Mirror, 1991, bottlecaps and mirror on wood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.66
Bottlecap Figure with Mirror
Artist
Date1991
bottlecaps and mirror on wood
On view
Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Sandstone Art (Indian Head), 1988, carved fused molding sand, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Carl Hammer Gallery and Mr. Imagination, 1991.154
Sandstone Art (Indian Head)
Artist
Date1988
carved fused molding sand
Not on view
Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), King's Portrait, 1990, carved fused molding sand, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. Imagination and Carl Hammer Gallery, 1991.45
King’s Portrait
Artist
Date1990
carved fused molding sand
Not on view

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Jacob Lawrence, Firewood #55, 1942, gouache, ink and watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the U.S. Information Agency through the General Services Administration, 1966.2.3
Firewood #55
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Date1942
gouache, ink and watercolor on paper
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Boardman Robinson, Colorado, from the United States Series, 1946, gouache and watercolor on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, 1984.124.252
Colorado, from the United States Series
Artist
Date1946
gouache and watercolor on paperboard
Not on view
Vincent Pepi, #519 Abstraction, 1950, watercolor and gouache on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1988.36.2
#519 Abstraction
Artist
Date1950
watercolor and gouache on paper
Not on view