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A graphite drawing with colored ink on off-white paper.

The drawing occupies three-quarters of the picture plane. A wavy graphite line marks the top of the figure, horizontal lines radiating down form segments, the words “dirt slope” are written on the right side across the horizontal lines. A large area of brown is on the left, tentacles of brown inch across an area of rounded objects which are colored yellow. Across the bottom is written “Asphalt on sulfur fragments” and “R. Smithson.”

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1998.86
People
Robert Smithson, American (Passaic NJ 1938 - 1973 Amarillo, TX)
Title
Asphalt on Sulphur Fragments
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1969
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/198546

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Graphite, colored crayons and felt tip ink on white wove paper
Dimensions
45.1 x 60.8 cm (17 3/4 x 23 15/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: graphite, l.r.: R. Smithson '69
  • inscription: l.r., graphite, in artist's hand: Dirt Slope
  • inscription: lower center, graphite, in artist's hand: Asphalt on Sulphur Fragments
  • label: removed from old backing, now in curatorial file, paper, typed

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Virginia Dwan; [Christie's, New York, 8 May 1990, lot 323], sold; to Sarah-Ann and Werner H. Kramarsky, New York, New York, 1990, gift; to the Harvard University Art Museums, 1998.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Sarah-Ann and Werner H. Kramarsky
Copyright
© Robert Smithson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Accession Year
1998
Object Number
1998.86
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Pinholes at upper corners.

Publication History

  • Amy Eshoo, ed., 560 Broadway: A New York Drawing Collection at Work, 1991-2006, Fifth Floor Foundation and Yale University Press (U.S.) (New York, 2008), p. 156

Exhibition History

  • Nominally Figured: Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 06/08/2006 - 02/25/2007
  • 32Q: 1100 60’s Experiment, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/10/2019 - 10/04/2021

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu