1998.86: Asphalt on Sulphur Fragments
Drawings1985.352.17.A
Tosa Mitsunobu
The Picture Contest (Eawase), Illustration to Chapter 17 of the Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari)
1985.352
Illustrations by Tosa Mitsunobu
Tale of Genji Album (Genji monogatari gajō) of Illustrations and Calligraphic Excerpts (Two Volumes)
The drawing occupies three-quarters of the picture plane. A wavy graphite line marks the top of the figure, horizontal lines radiating down form segments, the words “dirt slope” are written on the right side across the horizontal lines. A large area of brown is on the left, tentacles of brown inch across an area of rounded objects which are colored yellow. Across the bottom is written “Asphalt on sulfur fragments” and “R. Smithson.”
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1998.86
- People
-
Robert Smithson, American (Passaic NJ 1938 - 1973 Amarillo, TX)
- Title
- Asphalt on Sulphur Fragments
- Classification
- Drawings
- Work Type
- drawing
- Date
- 1969
- Culture
- American
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/198546
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Graphite, colored crayons and felt tip ink on white wove paper
- Dimensions
- 45.1 x 60.8 cm (17 3/4 x 23 15/16 in.)
- Inscriptions and Marks
-
- Signed: graphite, l.r.: R. Smithson '69
- inscription: l.r., graphite, in artist's hand: Dirt Slope
- inscription: lower center, graphite, in artist's hand: Asphalt on Sulphur Fragments
- label: removed from old backing, now in curatorial file, paper, typed
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
-
Virginia Dwan; [Christie's, New York, 8 May 1990, lot 323], sold; to Sarah-Ann and Werner H. Kramarsky, New York, New York, 1990, gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1998.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Sarah-Ann and Werner H. Kramarsky
- Copyright
- © Robert Smithson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
- Accession Year
- 1998
- Object Number
- 1998.86
- Division
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Contact
- am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
Descriptions
- Description
- Pinholes at upper corners.
Publication History
- Amy Eshoo, ed., 560 Broadway: A New York Drawing Collection at Work, 1991-2006, Fifth Floor Foundation and Yale University Press (U.S.) (New York, 2008), p. 156
Exhibition History
- Nominally Figured: Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/08/2006 - 02/25/2007
- 32Q: 1100 60’s Experiment, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/10/2019 - 10/04/2021
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu