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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1966.39
People
David Smith, American (Decatur, IN 1906 - 1965 Bennington, VT)
Title
Sketches for a Sculpture; verso: Sketch
Other Titles
Alternate Title: Two Unidentified Structures; verso: Arabesque
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1935-1936
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/308912

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Graphite, black ink and an area of black spatter on off-white wove paper; verso: graphite
Dimensions
15 x 9.9 cm (5 7/8 x 3 7/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
David Smith, Bolton Landing, New York, gift; to Lois Orswell, Pomfret Center, Connecticut, 1961, gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1966.

NOTE: See correspondence from Mrs. Orswell in curatorial file for 1966.16: "Some time ago, David gave me the sketches saying they were early ones and would I give them to the Fogg "some time."... I think my name should not be used for the purposes of labels etc., and that they should be "gift of David Smith"."

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of David Smith
Copyright
© The Estate of David Smith / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Accession Year
1966
Object Number
1966.39
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Marjorie B. Cohn and Sarah Kianovsky, Lois Orswell, David Smith, and Modern Art, exh. cat., Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 2002), cat. no. 226, pp. 267 note 76, 349, 379
  • Richard Mulholland, "Of Dreams and Visions and Things Not Known: Looking at David Smith's Drawing Media" (thesis (certificate in conservation), Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, 2003), Unpublished, pp. 1-43 passim

Exhibition History

  • David Smith: The Formative Years, Sculpture and Drawings from the 1930's and 1940's, Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, 01/06/1981 - 03/01/1981

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