Pillar of Sunday

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Artist David Smith (American, 1906–1965)

Title Pillar of Sunday

Date 1945

Medium Painted steel

Dimensions Overall: 31 x 16 5/8 x 8 1/2 in. (78.7 x 42.2 x 21.6 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 69.151

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About this Work

David Smith began making painted and welded steel sculptures in the 1930s, attempting to reconcile the disparate characteristics of painting and sculpture. Smith’s sculptures of the immediate postwar period are heavily influenced by Surrealism and embedded with autobiographical references. The images attached to Pillar of Sunday’s vertical trunk refer to Smith’s recollections of the Sunday rituals of his youth, such as a preparing a chicken for a festive dinner.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Pillar of Sunday | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=69.151