The Y–shaped pieces of metal Smith incorporated into this work are found objects. "These Y's were in a box unknown to me at the time of the purchase," Smith said. ". . . I cannot locate their original function." Smith found that the iron was soft and tactile—deal properties for his work—and he made several welded constructions in 1950 that incorporated these and other forged letters. He covered this metal sculpture with fifteen to twenty coats of paint mixed with aluminum powder and varnish. For Smith the letters represented "the return to origins—before purities were befouled by words. Before the ingrate word makers turned the artists own symbols against him with a what does it mean."

Gallery label from

2007.

Medium Painted steel
Dimensions 42 3/4 x 29 1/8 x 6" (108.6 x 73.9 x 15.2 cm)
Credit Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund
Object number 294.1956
Department Painting & Sculpture

Explore more

All works by David Smith →

From MoMA Design Store

Installation views

We have identified this work in the following photos from our exhibition history.

How we identified these works
In 2018–19, MoMA collaborated with Google Arts & Culture Lab on a project using machine learning to identify artworks in installation photos. That project has concluded, and works are now being identified by MoMA staff.

If you notice an error, please contact us at [email protected].
Licensing
To reproduce installation views, please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations). You will need to include the object identification number found in the caption.
Feedback
This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please send feedback to [email protected].

Licensing

Artwork or archival images

If you would like to reproduce an image of a work of art in MoMA's collection, or an image of a MoMA publication or archival material (including installation views, checklists, and press releases), please contact Art Resource (publication in North America) or Scala Archives (publication in all other geographic locations).

Audio and film clips

MoMA licenses archival audio and select out of copyright film clips from our film collection. At this time, MoMA produced video cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. All requests to license archival audio or out of copyright film clips should be addressed to Scala Archives at [email protected]. Motion picture film stills cannot be licensed by MoMA/Scala. For access to motion picture film stills for research purposes, please contact the Film Study Center at [email protected]. For more information about film loans and our Circulating Film and Video Library, please visit Circulating Film and Video Library.

Text from a publication or the archives

If you would like to reproduce text from a MoMA publication, please email [email protected]. If you would like to publish text from MoMA's archival materials, please fill out this permission form and send to [email protected].

Feedback

This record is a work in progress. If you have additional information or spotted an error, please fill out this feedback form.