Past Exhibition

A Century of Modern Sculpture

This free-standing marble sculpture shows a man’s abstracted head and shoulders carved in angular planes. The top third of the piece is a smooth head, perhaps bald, with a curling, pointed oval shape coming down the middle of his forehead. The middle third is the elongated, rectangular face. Closed eyes are suggested by thin ridges carved in deep recesses on either side of a long nose, which is shaped by flat planes. The mouth is delineated by a thick, downturned, upper lip, and a narrow goatee hangs from the pointed chin. The bottom third is the shoulders, suggested by a downward-facing arch carved on the side we can see. The surface is rough and unpolished with a few streaks of gray in the sand-colored marble. This photograph shows the sculpture angled to our right against a pale gray background.
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Hieratic Head of Ezra Pound, 1914, marble, Gift from the Collection of Raymond and Patsy Nasher, 2009.72.1

Details

  • Dates

    -

  • Locations

    East Building, Mezzanine, Ground Floor, Concourse, North Terrace (15,000 sq. ft.)
This free-standing marble sculpture shows a man’s abstracted head and shoulders carved in angular planes. The top third of the piece is a smooth head, perhaps bald, with a curling, pointed oval shape coming down the middle of his forehead. The middle third is the elongated, rectangular face. Closed eyes are suggested by thin ridges carved in deep recesses on either side of a long nose, which is shaped by flat planes. The mouth is delineated by a thick, downturned, upper lip, and a narrow goatee hangs from the pointed chin. The bottom third is the shoulders, suggested by a downward-facing arch carved on the side we can see. The surface is rough and unpolished with a few streaks of gray in the sand-colored marble. This photograph shows the sculpture angled to our right against a pale gray background.
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Hieratic Head of Ezra Pound, 1914, marble, Gift from the Collection of Raymond and Patsy Nasher, 2009.72.1

Overview: More than 70 works from Auguste Rodin to Jonathan Borofsky were selected from the collection of 20th-century sculpture assembled by the Nashers over a period of 20 years for their home in Dallas, Texas, and for installation at a Dallas shopping center and office complex. The exhibition was installed in public spaces on 3 levels in the East Building.

Organization: The exhibition was coordinated by Nan Rosenthal, curator of 20th-century art. Gaillard Ravenel, Mark Leithauser, and Rosenthal selected the works for the National Gallery. Ravenel and Leithauser designed the exhibition, Gordon Anson designed the lighting, and Don Hand designed the plantings for the National Gallery to resemble a sculpture garden.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by Northern Telecom.

Attendance: 1,138,445

Catalog: A Century of Modern Sculpture: The Patsy and Raymond Nasher Collection, edited by Steven A. Nash. Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1987.

Brochure: A Century of Modern Sculpture: The Patsy and Raymond Nasher Collection. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1987.

Other Venues:

  • Dallas Museum of Art, 04/05/1987–05/31/1987

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