Clamdigger (de Kooning)

Clamdigger (1976)

Clamdigger is a bronze sculpture by Willem de Kooning.[1] It may have been inspired by "the men who dug for clams along the beaches" near his home in East Hampton, New York.[2] It has been described as one of his "extraordinarily tactile figurative sculptures" that "seemed pulled from the primordial ooze,"[3] and "as part man, part creature of the mud and the shallows."[4]

The sculpture was modeled in clay in 1972, and cast in bronze in 1976. It was his "first large-scale bronze work."[5]

As of 2014, Clamdigger is on display in the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.[6]

De Kooning, known for his abstract expressionist paintings, took up sculpture later in his career, after a 1969 visit with a friend in Italy "who had a small foundry."[7]

See also

• List of public art in Washington, D.C., Ward 2

References

1. "Clamdigger, (sculpture)". SIRIS
2. "Clamdigger, the Beloved". Art&Seek. 2008-09-22. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
3. Stevens, Mark (2014-10-21). "Willem de Kooning Still Dazzles". Smithsonian Magazine, Arts & Culture. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
4. Russell, John (1983-05-20). "Art: The Sculpture of Willem de Kooning". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
5. "Secondary Object". Museumland. 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-06.
6. "Collection Search - Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden - Smithsonian". Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden - Smithsonian. Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2011-04-11.
7. "BAM/PFA - Art Exhibitions - Willem de Kooning". MATRIX 12. Archived from the original on 2014-05-06. Retrieved 2014-05-06.

External links

• Clam digger, sketch by de Kooning
• "Secondary Object". Museumland. 2014. Retrieved 2014-05-06.

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