Sculpture

A round grey sculpture with a hole in the center  by Isamu Noguchi
Isamu Noguchi, Grey Sun, 1967, Arni marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1969.158, © The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York

The museum’s American sculpture collection is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. From works by such nineteenth-century masters as Hiram PowersEdmonia Lewis, and Harriet Hosmer to turn-of-the-century bronzes by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Paul Manship, sculpture provides insight into American history and values. Modern and contemporary works by Louise NevelsonIsamu NoguchiEdward KienholzDeborah Butterfield, and Martin Puryear bring the collection up to the present moment.

Selected Works

Edmonia Lewis, The Death of Cleopatra, carved 1876, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Historical Society of Forest Park, Illinois, 1994.17
The Death of Cleopatra
Datecarved 1876
marble
On view
Deborah Butterfield, Monekana, 2001, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the American Art Forum, Mr. and Mrs. Frank O. Rushing, Shelby and Frederick Gans and museum purchase, 2002.3, © 2001, Deborah Butterfield
Monekana
Date2001
bronze
Not on view
Edmonia Lewis, Michelangelo, Moses (after Michelangelo), 1875, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred T. Morris, Jr., 1984.149.1
Moses (after Michelangelo)
Date1875
marble
On view
Louise Nevelson, Night Leaf, 1969, plexiglas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Woodward Foundation, 1976.108.90
Night Leaf
Date1969
plexiglas
On view
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Adams Memorial, modeled 1886-1891, cast 1969, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1970.11
Adams Memorial
Datemodeled 1886-1891, cast 1969
bronze
Not on view
Paul Manship, Atalanta, 1921, bronze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Paul Manship, 1966.47.20
Atalanta
Date1921
bronze
Not on view
Edward Kienholz, Nancy Reddin Kienholz, Sollie 17, 1979-1980, mixed media construction, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2001.58, © 1980, Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Sollie 17
Date1979-1980
mixed media construction
Not on view
Harriet Hosmer, Puck, modeled 1854, carved 1856, marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mrs. George Merrill, 1918.3.5
Puck
Datemodeled 1854, carved 1856
marble
Not on view
Minton and Company, Greek Slave, after 1849, Parian ware (unglazed porcelain), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 2015.30
Greek Slave
Artist
Minton and Company , after Hiram Powers
Dateafter 1849
Parian ware (unglazed porcelain)
On view
Martin Puryear, Bower, 1980, Sitka spruce, pine, and copper tacks, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase made possible through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, Alexander Calder, Frank Wilbert Stokes, and the Ford Motor Company, 2002.18, © 1980, Martin Puryear
Bower
Date1980
Sitka spruce, pine, and copper tacks
Not on view
Isamu Noguchi, Grey Sun, 1967, Arni marble, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist, 1969.158, © The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York
Grey Sun
Date1967
Arni marble
Not on view

Related Artists

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Hiram Powers
born Woodstock, VT 1805-died Florence, Italy 1873

Born and grew up in Vermont, later lived in Ohio before moving to Florence, Italy, in 1837.

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Edmonia Lewis
born Greenbush (now Rensselaer), NY 1844-died London, England 1907
Edmonia Lewis was the first sculptor of African American and Native American (Mississauga) descent to achieve international recognition. Her father was Black, and her mother was Chippewa (Ojibwa) Indian.
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Harriet Hosmer
born Watertown, MA 1830-died Watertown, MA 1908

Encouraged by her father to pursue physical exercise after her mother and siblings died of tuberculosis, Hosmer had an active childhood in Massachusetts.

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Augustus Saint-Gaudens
born Dublin, Ireland 1848-died Cornish, NH 1907

Sculptor who combined naturalism and monumentality in his works and was one of the best-known and influential sculptors of his day.

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Paul Manship
born St. Paul, MN 1885-died New York City 1966

Sculptor. The country's most famous exponent of Art Deco, he embraced archaic vocabularies of Greek, Roman, and Indian art to create decorative, stylized, Neoclassical works.

Photograph of Louise Nevelson, ca. 1965. Photo by Ugo Mulas. Louise Nevelson papers, circa 1903-1982, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
Louise Nevelson
born Kiev, Russia (now Kyiv, Ukraine) 1899-died New York City 1988

Born in Russia, brought to Maine in 1905, lived in New York City starting in 1920. Internationally famous artist who created striking assemblages of found wooden forms, and sculptures in steel, aluminum, Plexiglass, and other materials.

Isamu Noguchi
born Los Angeles, CA 1904-died New York City 1988
Edward Kienholz
born Fairfield, WA 1927-died Sandpoint, ID 1994
Deborah Butterfield
born San Diego, CA 1949
Martin Puryear
born Washington, DC 1941

One of the most important American sculptors working today, Martin Puryear (born 1941) is known for refined, handmade constructions, primarily in wood. Puryear's abstract forms, while evocative and familiar, elude specific or singular interpretations.