Reclining Figure

David Smith, Reclining Figure, 1935, iron, 10 3432 147 34 in. (27.381.919.7 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Samuel G. Rose and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2013.6

Artwork Details

Title
Reclining Figure
Artist
Date
1935
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
10 3432 147 34 in. (27.381.919.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Samuel G. Rose and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
iron
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure
Object Number
2013.6

Artwork Description

In 1934, David Smith set up a studio in an industrial workshop and used skills he learned as a welder in an automobile factory to join found objects into assemblages. He was the first American to use the technique, which had been pioneered by Picasso and Julio González the previous decade. Reclining Figure is made of cast-off tools and metal sheet. Smith used piston shafts for arms and forceps for feet. A toothed bar became a spine. Although the metallic body contradicts the idea of soft feminine flesh, Smith applied a rust-colored coating to give the surface an unexpected warmth. Reclining Figure exploits the play of the unexpected that characterized surrealist works by Smith's contemporaries.

Works by this artist (3 items)

Larry Sultan, Portrait of My Father with Newspaper, 1988, chromogenic print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Nan Tucker McEvoy, 1989.58, © 1988, Larry Sultan
Portrait of My Father with Newspaper
Date1988
chromogenic print
Not on view
Larry Sultan, Dad on the Bed, from the series Pictures from Home, 1984, chromogenic print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2010.17.1, © 1984, Larry Sultan
Dad on the Bed, from the series Pictures from Home
Date1984
chromogenic print
Not on view
Larry Sultan, Mom in the Garage, from the series Pictures from Home, 1988, printed 2000, chromogenic print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2010.17.2, © 1988, Larry Sultan
Mom in the Garage, from the series Pictures from Home
Date1988, printed 2000
chromogenic print
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.9
Untitled
Dateca. 1945-1950
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Eugene Von Bruenchenhein, Untitled, ca. 1945-1950, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lewis and Jean Greenblatt, 2002.86.7
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gelatin silver print
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Jared French, Margaret French, PaJaMa, Paul Cadmus, PaJaMa (Box A), ca. 1937, gelatin silver prints, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Margaret French, 1999.98.5.16
PaJaMa (Box A)
Dateca. 1937
gelatin silver prints
Not on view