Lucy

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

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

By Jack Whitten

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Homage To Malcolm, Jack Whitten American, Wood, metal and paint — Homage To Malcolm
Jack Whitten
1965

Gray and Brass, John Sloan American, Oil on canvas, American — Gray and Brass
John Sloan
1907

“ANAESTHESIA I” desk, Samuel Ross British, Glass fiber reinforced concrete, aluminum, stainless steel, OSB (Oriented Strand Board, engineered wood), Abidjan clay, turmeric, acrylic, acrylic lacquer, polyurethane — “ANAESTHESIA I” desk
Samuel Ross
2022

Delta Group II, Jack Whitten American, Acrylic on canvas — Delta Group II
Jack Whitten
1975

Necklace, Meta Overbeck American, Gold, emeralds, Montana sapphires, topazes, enamel, American — Necklace
Meta Overbeck
Louis C. Tiffany
Manufacturer Tiffany & Co.
ca. 1914–15

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.