Artwork Details
Artist
Creation Date
Materials
Object Types
Dimensions
15-5/8 x 22 x 6-1/2 inches (without mount) 17-3/4 x 22 x 6-1/2 inches (installed)
Mark Description
Inscribed on verso at vertical post: David Smith 3-20-1954. F 383
Accession Number
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James W. Alsdorf
Copyright
Collection
Color Palette
Provenance
Artist; (Martin Widdifield Gallery, New York, New York,) Sculpture by David Smith: Sculpture in Silver, 15 October - 02 November 1957. Purchased by Mr. and Mrs. James W. Alsdorf, Chicago, Illinois; given to the John Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, Indiana, now the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields, in 1960.
Gallery Labels
David Smith referred to his sculptures of the 1950s, like Egyptian Barnyard, as “drawings in space.” Their open construction of lines and forms, here created from wrought and soldered silver, recall the gestural marks of his drawings. Smith’s forms allude to the contours of his natural surroundings. It has been suggested that they also refer to what only the mind’s eye could see—like the tracks of shooting stars, or the flight paths of birds that knife through a landscape.
Smith chose to work far away from cities. Over time, his 80-acre farm at Bolton Landing became the stage for his large-scale sculptures, which integrated completely with their natural surroundings, as can be seen in the image to the right.
Exhibition History
Exhibition Name
Venue
Dates
Surrealism in American Art, Manifesta Biennal
Centre de La Vieille Charité
May 11, 2021 - September 26, 2021
The Fields of David Smith
Storm King Art Center
May 17, 1999 - November 15, 1999
David Smith Spray Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture
The Arts Club of Chicago
June 1, 1983 - June 30, 1983
Sesquicentennial Exhibition
Anderson Fine Arts Center
January 1, 1967 - February 28, 1967
Sesquicentennial Exhibition
David Owsley Museum of Art at Ball State University
October 25, 1966 - December 31, 1966
East West in Art
Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University
Date Unknown - October 15, 1966
David Smith: Sculpture in Silver
Widdifield Gallery
October 15, 1957 - November 2, 1957
More from the Collection
Content Disclaimer and Usage Rights
Metadata about the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection comes from Newfields’ records and research. In some cases, information may be incomplete and research is ongoing. Newfields’ goal is to have as up-to-date metadata as possible, therefore, this information is subject to change. Newfields collections’ metadata is available under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) waiver, which allows for re-use without legal restrictions.
Artworks that appear in the image file(s) above may be in copyright or have other legal and/or cultural restrictions to their use. For clarity, Newfields does not claim copyright to the image files created by Newfields of artworks in the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection. Newfields makes every effort to ascertain the copyright status of artworks in the Indianapolis Museum of Art’s collection. Please refer to the RightsStatements.org statement above for information about the current copyright status of the artwork. Additionally, some artworks may include Local Context’s Notices or Labels that attribute cultural authority of the artwork’s heritage and data.
Additional information about Newfields’ reproduction guidelines can be found in the Licensing Resources.
4000 Michigan Road, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 46208-3326 | 317-923-1331
Copyright © 2024 Newfields. All rights reserved.
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [MA-251861-OMS-22].