Figure

Label TextNoguchi’s unique artistic identity combined his interest in both Asian and European traditions. He found that the aesthetics of Japanese art, with its simplified forms, proclivity towards abstraction, and pure use of materials, reconciled well with Modernism, which shares several similar values. Working with a Japanese carpenter, Noguchi learned techniques with hand tools and natural materials that would be reinforced during his time as Constantin Brancusi’s studio assistant in Paris. Noguchi’s sculpture is often described as “biomorphic”, meaning that while abstract, the shapes are derived from those found in nature.
Published ReferencesBotnick, Diane and Nancy Grove. The Sculpture of Isamu Noguchi, 1924-1979: A Catalogue. New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1980: i-xvii, 1-625

DimensionsOverall: 60 × 21 3/8 × 13 1/2 in. (152.4 × 54.3 × 34.3 cm)
Overall (a): 49 1/2 × 20 3/4 × 1 in. (125.7 × 52.7 × 2.5 cm)
Overall (b): 30 1/2 × 11 3/4 × 1 in. (77.5 × 29.8 × 2.5 cm)
Overall (c): 20 3/4 × 13 1/2 × 1 in. (52.7 × 34.3 × 2.5 cm)
Overall (d): 16 × 6 3/4 × 1 in. (40.6 × 17.1 × 2.5 cm)
Overall (e): 3 1/2 × 13 × 1 in. (8.9 × 33 × 2.5 cm)
Overall (f): 1 × 10 × 9 1/2 in. (2.5 × 25.4 × 24.1 cm)

Accession Number 2006.31.a-.f

Classificationssculpture

CopyrightARS

SignedIsamu Noguchi 5/8 (near floor end of largest component)

Edition5/8

MarksFONDERIA TESCONI PIETRASANTA (near floor end of largest component)

ProvenanceArtist. Arnold Herstand & Company, New York [acquired c. 1984]; Jacqueline and Myron Blank, Des Moines [purchased from the previous, 1985]; Des Moines Art Center [bequest of the previous, 2006]