Woman Eating

Duane Hanson, Woman Eating, 1971, polyester resin and fiberglass with oil and acrylic paints and found accessories, overall: 50 x 30 x 55 in. (127.0 x 76.2 x 139.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2005.22A-Z

Artwork Details

Title: Woman Eating
Artist: Duane Hanson
Date: 1971
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: overall: 50 x 30 x 55 in. (127.0 x 76.2 x 139.7 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums Description: polyester resin and fiberglass with oil and acrylic paints and found accessories
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Dress — accessory — handbag
Figure female — full length
Recreation — leisure — eating and drinking
Object — foodstuff — ice cream
Object — written matter — newspaper
Object — furniture — table
State of being — other — obese
Object Number: 2005.22A-Z
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2005.22A-Z

Artwork Description

Duane Hanson is known for superrealistic sculptures that often cause viewers to pause with uncertainty about whether they are looking at a sculpture or a person. Cast in fiberglass and resin from live models, then painted and clothed, Hanson's life-size figures are presented as ordinary individuals engaged in everyday activities. The Museum has replaced the original National Enquirer on the table with a contemporary tabloid, both to spare the original from overexposure to light and to heighten the surprise for visitors that the seated woman is not alive.