Demolition AB5

Mavis Iona Pusey, Demolition AB5, 1980, pastel and graphite on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2020.58.1
Mavis Iona Pusey, Demolition AB5, 1980, pastel and graphite on paper, sheet: 40 7⁄8 × 27 1⁄4 in. (103.8 × 69.2 cm) image: 31 1⁄2 in. × 23 in. (80 × 58.4 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, 2020.58.1

Artwork Details

Title
Demolition AB5
Artist
Date
1980
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 40 7⁄8 × 27 1⁄4 in. (103.8 × 69.2 cm) image: 31 1⁄2 in. × 23 in. (80 × 58.4 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase made possible by the Catherine Walden Myer Fund
Mediums
Mediums Description
pastel and graphite on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture — industry — construction
Object Number
2020.58.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2020.58.1

Artwork Description

Mavis Pusey emigrated from Jamaica to New York at age eighteen to study fashion, but classes at the Art Students League soon revealed her talents in painting and printmaking. Four years later, an expired visa forced her to move to London and then Paris, but she returned to New York in the late 1960s. Inspired by the architecture, lights, and movement of these cosmopolitan cities, Pusey created abstract works at a time when many fellow Black artists were producing representational art with themes that supported the civil rights movement. Here Pusey uses geometric forms to capture the transient nature of her urban surroundings, observing the city's cycles of neglect and gentrification. The textured surfaces suggest the skewed rectangular planks and boarded-up windows of abandoned buildings and construction sites.

Works by this artist (13 items)

View all artworks
Michael P. Smith, Untitled, ca. 1968-1983, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1270, © The Historic New Orleans Collection
Untitled
Artist
Dateca. 1968-1983
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Michael P. Smith, Entering the "liquid grave", 1973, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1269, © The Historic New Orleans Collection
Entering the ​“liquid grave”
Artist
Date1973
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Michael P. Smith, Communion Service, Holy Family S.C., "praying over the body", 1973, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1267, © The Historic New Orleans Collection
Communion Service, Holy Family S.C., ​“praying over the body”
Artist
Date1973
gelatin silver print
Not on view
Michael P. Smith, Baptism, Beauty of Holiness Church of the Lord God in Creation/"Reborn in the Name of Jesus," Beauty of Holiness Church, 1974, gelatin silver print, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the National Endowment for the Arts, 1983.63.1274, © The Historic New Orleans Collection
Baptism, Beauty of Holiness Church of the Lord God in…
Artist
Date1974
gelatin silver print
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

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Claire Falkenstein, City is Man, 1941-1952, linocut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.14, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
City is Man
Artist
Date1941-1952
linocut
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Untitled
Artist
Date1976
embossed paper
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Mandala
Artist
Date1977
lithograph
Not on view
Image Not Available
Les Quais de la Seine a Paris
Artist
Date1917
hand-colored etching on postcard
Not on view