Circle II

1962

David Smith

Artist, American, 1906 - 1965

Made with sheets of painted steel, a red ring stands upright on a narrow black base in this freestanding sculpture. A black strip and a white strip are affixed to the edges of the ring. An inward-facing cup-shaped lip at the bottom right side of the circle is lined with black along the inner edge and painted white where it encloses space on the otherwise red ring. The black rectangular strip, which would be about the same height as the ring if stood alongside it, is affixed to the left center of the face of the ring almost vertically. The longer white strip is affixed to the back side of the ring and angles from near the top of the black strip down and to the right. The sculpture is photographed near a wall clad with pale pinkish-gray marble and a similarly colored floor.
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On View

NGA, East Building, EM-203, N

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    painted steel

  • Credit Line

    Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund

  • Dimensions

    overall: 267.9 x 281.2 x 60 cm (105 1/2 x 110 11/16 x 23 5/8 in.) gross weight: 820 lb. (371.95 kg)

  • Accession

    1977.60.2

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

The artist [1906-1965], Bolton Landing, New York; his estate; sold by the estate by 1969 to (Marlborough Galleries, New York); purchased 17 November 1977 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1982

  • David Smith: Seven Major Themes, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1982-1983, no. 2 of Circles, repro.

2000

  • Crossroads of American Sculpture, Indianapolis Museum of Art, 2000-2001, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

2014

  • Raw Color: the Circles of David Smith, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, 2014, no. 3, figs. 1b, 15, 18.

Bibliography

1980

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1980: 36, repro.

1988

  • Wilmerding, John. American Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art. Rev. ed. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1988: 44, repro.

1992

  • National Gallery of Art, Washington. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992: 272, repro.

1994

  • Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 219, repro.

1995

  • Marshall, Albert. "A Study of the Surfaces of David Smith's Sculpture." Studies in the History of Art 51 (1995): 97, 101.

Inscriptions

on edge of base: David Smith CI.II 10-20-62

Wikidata ID

Q63854589

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