Moondog

model 1964, fabricated 1998-1999

Tony Smith

Sculptor, American, 1912 - 1980

This free-standing sculpture is a three-footed, black metal arch with flat, faceted surfaces along its chunky legs. On the top half, three arms curve up and in to meet at the center. The arms are offset from the three legs and are connected by bands across the middle. The sculpture stands on a grassy park lawn and is nearly as tall as the mature trees behind it. Sunlight gleams on the matte surfaces so some look lighter gray and others are flat black.
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Tony Smith was a man of many talents: he was a successful architect who trained at the New Bauhaus school and worked with Frank Lloyd Wright before turning to painting and, eventually, sculpture. Only in his late 40s did Smith begin making sculpture full-time. The structure of Moondog is based on a lattice motif, and comprises a configuration of geometric shapes (15 octahedrons and 10 tetrahedrons). While its rational geometry conveys a grounded regularity, Moondog also has a startling tilt from certain viewpoints, giving an impression of instability. Smith compared this sculpture to a variety of forms, including a Japanese lantern and a human pelvic bone. The title itself derives from two sources: Moondog was the name of a blind poet and folk musician who lived in New York City, and Smith has also likened this sculpture to Dog Barking at the Moon, a painting by Joan Miró. He first created Moondog in 1964 as a 33-inch cardboard model and cast it in bronze as a garden sculpture in 1970. This version was planned by Smith, but was not fabricated until after his death.
Sculpture Garden, Southeast Quadrant
On View

Sculpture Garden, Southeast Quadrant


Artwork overview

  • Medium

    painted aluminum

  • Credit Line

    Gift of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

  • Dimensions

    overall: 521.3 x 468 x 467.4 cm (205 1/4 x 184 1/4 x 184 in.)
    gross weight: 4200.000 lb
    gross weight (each of three sections): 1400.000 lb

  • Accession

    1997.137.1


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Fabricated for NGA through (Paula Cooper Gallery, New York); purchased 22 December 1997 by NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

2013

  • Cigola, Francesca. Art Parks: A Tour of America’s Sculpture Parks and Gardens. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2013: 101.

2021

  • May, Katherine. "Twenty Years of Repainting Tony Smith." Facture: conservation, science, art history 5 (2021): 146-173, fig. 1.

Inscriptions

lower inside panel of one "leg": T.SMITH / MOONDOG / 1964 / 3/3

Wikidata ID

Q63862084


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