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Lucy

Jack Whitten American
2011
Not on view
Reflecting Whitten’s interest in the origins of humanity, Lucy is named after the fossilized skeleton discovered in Ethiopia in 1974. Whitten’s version features a vertical stack of carved wood resting on a stone from the ancient Cretan town of Phaistos, a block of African mahogany, and a modern metal I-beam. Each element symbolizes a different marker on humanity’s historical timeline. These elements also signal the places that Whitten held most dear: Crete, the summer home where he made almost all of his sculptures, Africa, his ancestral homeland, and his birthplace, Bessemer, Alabama. The wire and circuit board serve as substitutes for hair as well as the brain’s synapses.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Lucy
  • Artist: Jack Whitten (American, Bessemer, Alabama 1939–2018 New York)
  • Date: 2011
  • Medium: Wood, stone, metal, paint, plastic, glass and clay
  • Dimensions: 62 5/8 × 10 1/4 × 18 1/8 in., 135.9 lb. (159.1 × 26 × 46 cm, 61.6 kg)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mary Staikos Whitten and Mirsini and Gregory Amidon, in honor of Jack Whitten, and in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2020
  • Object Number: 2020.32a–c
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Courtesy the Jack Whitten Estate and Hauser & Wirth
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

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Delta Group II, Jack Whitten American, Acrylic on canvas
Delta Group II
Jack Whitten
1975
Black Monolith II (For Ralph Ellison), Jack Whitten American, Acrylic, molasses, copper, salt, coal, ash, chocolate, onion, herbs, rust, eggshell, razor blade on canvas
Returned to lender
Black Monolith II (For Ralph Ellison)
Jack Whitten
1994
Black Monolith XI (Six Kinky Strings: For Chuck Berry), Jack Whitten American, Acrylic on canvas
Returned to lender
Black Monolith XI (Six Kinky Strings: For Chuck Berry)
Jack Whitten
2017
Bessemer Dreamer, Jack Whitten American, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas
Returned to lender
Bessemer Dreamer
Jack Whitten
1986
Site IV, Jack Whitten American, Acrylic on canvas
Returned to lender
Site IV
Jack Whitten
1986

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