Untitled (Dancer)

Label Text

This sculpture relates to a group of seventeen large and medium-sized works which Smith referred to as his "Agricola" (farmer) series. These sculptures are formed of discarded agricultural tools and machinery. In this piece, a fanciful "dancer" balances gracefully on one leg while the other leg is extended; both are formed by the blades of a shear-like instrument.

David Smith was born in Decatur, Indiana in 1906. He studied briefly at Ohio University and then at the Art Students League in New York. Trained as a painter, he turned to sculpture in the 1930s. During the 1940s and early 1950s he taught for short periods of time at various universities. President Johnson appointed him to the National Council on the Arts early in 1965, but he died later that spring in an automobile accident.

Source: Bulletin, September-October, 1978.

Published ReferencesRosalind E. Krauss, THE SCULPTURE OF DAVID SMITH - A CATALOGUE RAISONNE, Garland Publishing, Inc., New York and London, 1977, ref. no.307, p.62, fig. no.307 (no page number for ill.)

DES MOINES ART CENTER: SELECTED PAINTINGS, SCULPTURES AND WORKS ON PAPER, Des Moines Art Center, 1985, ref. pp.199 & 200

DMAC Bulletin, Sept./Oct. 1978, cover ill.

DimensionsOverall (sculpture): 13 1/2 × 7 1/4 × 11 1/2 in. (34.3 × 18.4 × 29.2 cm)
Overall (base): 1 × 4 3/4 × 4 3/4 in. (2.5 × 12.1 × 12.1 cm)

Accession Number 1977.38

Classificationssculpture

CopyrightARS

InscriptionsInscribed and dated: David Smith 1953 (on bronze plaque attached to front of base)

Catalogue raisonnéTHE SCULPTURE OF DAVID SMITH - A CATALOGUE RAISONNE, by Rosalind E. Krauss, pub. by Garland Publishing, Inc., N.Y. and London, 1977, repro. fig. no. 532, p. 97 (no page no. shown for repro.)

ProvenanceArtist. (Boulton Landing, Lake George); Mrs. Jesse Fillman, Boston, MA [purchased from the previous]; Des Moines Art Center [gift of the previous, 1977]