Wind Machine with Gabriel, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Louis Armstrong

James Leonard, Wind Machine with Gabriel, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Louis Armstrong, 1984, cut, soldered and patinated copper on wood base, cut and soldered copper wire and sheet with localized liver of sulphur (potassium sulfide) patination, 28 x 18 ¹⁄₂ x 10 in. (71.1 x 47.0 x 25.4 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.368

Artwork Details

Title: Wind Machine with Gabriel, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Louis Armstrong
Artist: James Leonard
Date: 1984
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 28 x 18 ¹⁄₂ x 10 in. (71.1 x 47.0 x 25.4 cm.)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: copper
Mediums Description: cut, soldered and patinated copper on wood base, cut and soldered copper wire and sheet with localized liver of sulphur (potassium sulfide) patination
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Religion — angel — St. Gabriel
Portrait male — Armstrong, Louis
Portrait female — Roosevelt, Eleanor
Performing arts — music — trumpet
Portrait group
Object Number: 1986.65.368
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.368

Artwork Description

James Leonard created this wind machine in 1984 to commemorate Eleanor Roosevelt’s hundredth birthday. She is seated because, as Leonard explains, “she is the lady of honor, and the other two guys are playing for her.” The “other two guys” are Leonard’s fantasy duet of Louis Armstrong and the angel Gabriel. When the machine is activated, Roosevelt waves her arms, Gabriel flaps his wings and taps his foot, and Armstrong rocks back and forth. (Lynda Hartigan, Made with Passion, 1990)