TitleBird Form
Artist
Cleo Hartwig
(American, 1907 - 1988)
Datec. 1966
MediumWhite terracotta
DimensionsOther (Object): 8 1/8 × 11 1/4 × 4 1/2 in.
Other (Base): 2 1/8 × 5 1/4 × 3 15/16 in.
Overall: 10 1/4 × 11 1/4 × 4 1/2 in.
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number198-S
Label TextHartwig specialized in creating bird and other animal subjects, which were inspired by her rural Michigan childhood. Her study with the sculptor José de Creft led her to develop an interest in direct carving. She favored working in stone or wood, but also occasionally employed limestone, marble and terracotta. In her small carved sculptures of animals she emphasized volume, and transformed the creatures into smooth and almost featureless biomorphic forms. Hartwig remarked that “In carving birds, animals, or other forms in nature I often reduce the compositions to very simplified contours, attempting at the same time to retain the general and identifying characteristics of the subject.”
