(Study for Order/​Disorder/​Ascension/​Descension)

Al Held, (Study for Order/Disorder/Ascension/Descension), 1975, pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.49
Copied Al Held, (Study for Order/Disorder/Ascension/Descension), 1975, pencil on paper, sheet: 20 1⁄2 x 24 3⁄4 in. (52.1 x 62.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program, 1977.47.49

Artwork Details

Title
(Study for Order/​Disorder/​Ascension/​Descension)
Artist
Date
1975
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
sheet: 20 1⁄2 x 24 3⁄4 in. (52.1 x 62.9 cm)
Credit Line
Transfer from the General Services Administration, Art-in-Architecture Program
Mediums
Mediums Description
pencil on paper
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract
Object Number
1977.47.49
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1977.47.49

Artwork Description

This drawing is a study for the enormous two-part mural commissioned for the Social Security building lobby in Philadelphia. Each of the final parts of the mural measures thirteen feet high and ninety feet wide, and special canvas had to be ordered from weavers in Belgium to accommodate this scale. The artist worked out arrangements of solid and broken lines that suggest volume and perspective. He then transferred the composition to a section of the canvas and added to the sequence of visual components until the entire mural was completed.

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