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Gallery Text

David Smith began work on these elaborately detailed figurative medals at the same time he was preparing for his first solo exhibition of abstract steel sculptures. Turning the notion of the military medal on its head, he proposed here a sardonic examination of the causes and effects of war that was informed by his recent travels in Europe and the Soviet Union, by the political commentary in Picasso’s Guernica and The Dream and Lie of Franco, and by his work in the sculpture division of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. The accompanying statements, by turns pointed and poetic, illuminate Smith’s desire to maintain a critical stance toward American culture while acknowledging the moral imperative of American involvement in world events, particularly the expanding war in Europe.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2023.471
People
David Smith, American (Decatur, IN 1906 - 1965 Bennington, VT)
Title
Cooperation of the Clergy
Other Titles
Title: Medals for dishonor
Classification
Medals and Medallions
Work Type
medal
Date
1939
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/348986

Location

Location
Level 1, Room 1320, Modern and Contemporary Art, Social Realism
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Cast bronze
Technique
Cast
Dimensions
25.4 x 25.4 cm (10 x 10 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
The Estate of David Smith, gift; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2023.

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Estate number: k101

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of The Estate of David Smith, New York
Copyright
© The Estate of David Smith / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
Accession Year
2023
Object Number
2023.471
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 1320 Social Realism, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

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