Confrontation

Hughie Lee-Smith, Confrontation, ca. 1970, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 2009.27
Hughie Lee-Smith, Confrontation, ca. 1970, oil on canvas, 3336 in. (83.891.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design, 2009.27

Artwork Details

Title
Confrontation
Date
ca. 1970
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3336 in. (83.891.4 cm)
Credit Line
Bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Subjects
  • State of being — other — confrontation
  • Architecture Exterior — detail — wall
  • Figure group — female
  • Landscape — beach
Object Number
2009.27

Artwork Description

With its half-demolished wall, odd configuration of poles, hula-hoop-like ring, and distant vista of calm water and low mountains, Confrontation presents an incongruous and unsettling image. But something is familiar about the scene; a quality of déjà vu that summons memories of difficult personal encounters. We assume a connection between the two young women, yet it is impossible to know the reason for their estrangement. Throughout his life, Lee-Smith explored the themes of the human condition and the wedges – social, individual, and racial – that thwart human interaction. But in Confrontation, Lee-Smith introduced a sense of possibility. The crumbling wall that separates the women from the landscape is not an insurmountable barrier; the serene world beyond is accessible by skirting boundaries.


African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era, and Beyond, 2012

Works by this artist (6 items)

Mark di Suvero, Untitled, 1967, welded steel and stainless steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Edith S. and Arthur J. Levin, 2005.5.20A-B
Untitled
Date1967
welded steel and stainless steel
On view
Mark di Suvero, Preliminary Maquette for Motu Viget, 1974, welded steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.49, © 1974, Mark di Suvero
Preliminary Maquette for Motu Viget
Date1974
welded steel
On view
Mark di Suvero, Revised Maquette for Motu Viget, 1976, welded steel, rubber, nylon, photograph on plywood base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.6
Revised Maquette for Motu Viget
Date1976
welded steel, rubber, nylon, photograph on plywood base
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Robert Hudson, Maquette for Tlingit, 1979, welded steel, assembled and painted, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, 1980.49.18
Maquette for Tlingit
Date1979
welded steel, assembled and painted
Not on view
Barbara Neijna, Maquette for Right Turn on White, 1978, cut and bent stainless steel on fiberboard base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.47
Maquette for Right Turn on White
Date1978
cut and bent stainless steel on fiberboard base
Not on view
William Goodman, Maquette for Solirio, 1973-1974, hammered, welded and painted steel, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.9
Maquette for Solirio
Date1973-1974
hammered, welded and painted steel
Not on view
Duayne Hatchett, Maquette for Equilateral Six, 1975, welded and painted aluminum on steel base, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1979.159.11
Maquette for Equilateral Six
Date1975
welded and painted aluminum on steel base
Not on view