Bicycle Wheel

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Artist Marcel Duchamp (French, 1887–1968)

Title Bicycle Wheel (Roue de Bicyclette)

Date 1964 edition (after 1913 original)

Medium Metal bicycle wheel mounted to painted wood stool

Dimensions Overall: 49 3/4 x 25 1/4 x 12 5/8 in. (126.4 x 64.1 x 32.1 cm)

Credit Line Partial gift of Mrs. William H. Conroy, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 71.37.1

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About this Work

Bicycle Wheel was Duchamp’s first readymade, made in Paris in 1913. Technically, it is an “assisted readymade” because Duchamp combined more than one factory-made object into a sculptural work of art, completely redefining how we view these common items. By affixing a spinning bicycle wheel to a kitchen stool, he also pioneered the concept of kinetic (moveable) sculpture.

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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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"Bicycle Wheel | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=71.37.1