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Reclining Figure is comprised of repeated geometric shapes, namely triangles and circles, interconnected with thin lines of iron. The flat plane of the triangular torso is juxtaposed with a second vertical triangle that could represent an alternate standing pose. Breasts and hips are defined by circles, both made from pre-existing metal rings. Limbs are thin and long, with the legs crossed and terminating in globules of extruded iron. Throughout, the play of negative and positive spaces and the silhouetting of forms enliven and energize the final image.
Smith typically thought of his sculptures in human terms, and his small reclining figures were usually conceived as female. Reclining Figure offers a clear indication of his working process. Pieces of iron—some found and others fabricated by the artist—were assembled and welded together to form a cohesive whole. Smith, inspired by Picasso and his fellow Spaniard Julio Gonzalez, broke new ground with his use of industrial welding techniques for making art, a talent that lasted throughout his career. Smith’s fundamental preoccupation with shapes, lines, and silhouettes persisted as well. According to him, “The overlay of line shapes, being a cubist invention, permits each form its own identity and when seen thru each other highly multiplies the complex of associations into new unities. I do not accept the monolithic limit in the tradition of sculpture. Sculpture is as free as the mind, as complex as life.” [1]
Notes:
[1] Smith, notebook, 1954, Archives of American Art, roll 4, quoted in Cleve Gray, ed. David Smith by David Smith (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1968), 68.
ProvenanceEstate of the Artist [1]
1983
M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, NY. [2]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York on December 10, 1983. [3]
Notes:
[1] Joan Durana Provenance Research, c. 1983.
[2] Invoice, object file.
[3] Invoice, object file.
Exhibition History1979
Vanguard American Sculptors
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (1979)
Cat. No. 191
1982
David Smith: The Formative Years, Sculpture and Drawing from the 1930's and 1940's
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY (1982)
Cat. No. 3
[Traveling exhibition from Edmunton Art Gallery, Edmunton, Alberta, Canada]
2007
Abstract/Object
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (2/27/2007 - 6/17/2007)
2010-2011
Figuring Abstraction
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (10/30/2010-10/30/2011)
Published ReferencesDavid Smith: The Formative Years, Sculpture and Drawing from the 1930's and 1940's. M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., 1982: illus. no. 3, 30.
Krauss, Rosalind.The Sculpture of David Smith: A Catalogue Raisonné. NY: Garland Publishing, 1977.
Vanguard American Sculptors. Rutgers University, 1979: 124 no.191.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 180, 181
DepartmentAmerican Art
Reclining Figure
Artist
David Smith
(1906 - 1965)
Date1935
Mediumiron
Dimensions5 1/8 x 12 3/8 x 5 1/2 in. (13 x 31.4 x 14 cm)
Signed<unsigned>
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Copyright© 2021 Estate of David Smith / Licensed by VAGA at Artist Rights Society (ARS), NY
Object number1983.2.10
DescriptionAbout 1930, while still in art school, David Smith saw reproductions of Pablo Picasso’s recent sculpture, and this simple event served as a turning point for the young artist. Picasso had begun to experiment with welding iron and wire, constructing linear and transparent figures with an air of Surrealism. Ever restless, Picasso soon abandoned this approach, returning to plaster heads of his mistress. Smith, on the other hand, was inspired and applied his knowledge of welding—learned on the job at an automobile factory—to create his earliest distinctive body of work.Reclining Figure is comprised of repeated geometric shapes, namely triangles and circles, interconnected with thin lines of iron. The flat plane of the triangular torso is juxtaposed with a second vertical triangle that could represent an alternate standing pose. Breasts and hips are defined by circles, both made from pre-existing metal rings. Limbs are thin and long, with the legs crossed and terminating in globules of extruded iron. Throughout, the play of negative and positive spaces and the silhouetting of forms enliven and energize the final image.
Smith typically thought of his sculptures in human terms, and his small reclining figures were usually conceived as female. Reclining Figure offers a clear indication of his working process. Pieces of iron—some found and others fabricated by the artist—were assembled and welded together to form a cohesive whole. Smith, inspired by Picasso and his fellow Spaniard Julio Gonzalez, broke new ground with his use of industrial welding techniques for making art, a talent that lasted throughout his career. Smith’s fundamental preoccupation with shapes, lines, and silhouettes persisted as well. According to him, “The overlay of line shapes, being a cubist invention, permits each form its own identity and when seen thru each other highly multiplies the complex of associations into new unities. I do not accept the monolithic limit in the tradition of sculpture. Sculpture is as free as the mind, as complex as life.” [1]
Notes:
[1] Smith, notebook, 1954, Archives of American Art, roll 4, quoted in Cleve Gray, ed. David Smith by David Smith (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, 1968), 68.
ProvenanceEstate of the Artist [1]
1983
M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, NY. [2]
From 1983
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, purchased from M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York on December 10, 1983. [3]
Notes:
[1] Joan Durana Provenance Research, c. 1983.
[2] Invoice, object file.
[3] Invoice, object file.
Exhibition History1979
Vanguard American Sculptors
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (1979)
Cat. No. 191
1982
David Smith: The Formative Years, Sculpture and Drawing from the 1930's and 1940's
M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY (1982)
Cat. No. 3
[Traveling exhibition from Edmunton Art Gallery, Edmunton, Alberta, Canada]
2007
Abstract/Object
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (2/27/2007 - 6/17/2007)
2010-2011
Figuring Abstraction
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC (10/30/2010-10/30/2011)
Published ReferencesDavid Smith: The Formative Years, Sculpture and Drawing from the 1930's and 1940's. M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., 1982: illus. no. 3, 30.
Krauss, Rosalind.The Sculpture of David Smith: A Catalogue Raisonné. NY: Garland Publishing, 1977.
Vanguard American Sculptors. Rutgers University, 1979: 124 no.191.
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda: Her Muses, Her Stories , with contributions by Martha R. Severens and David Park Curry (Winston-Salem, N.C.: Reynolda House Museum of American Art affiliated with Wake Forest University, 2017). pg. 180, 181
Status
On view