Backrest of a Fine-limbed Person (Hare-type) of the 20th Century AD
- Artist
- Joseph Beuys, German, 1921–1986
- Date
- 1970–72
- Material
- Cast iron
- Classification
- Metalwork, sculpture
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 5 3/4 x 38 x 17 in. (14.6 x 96.5 x 43.2 cm)
case: 72 1/2 x 60 1/8 x 24 1/4 in. (184.2 x 152.7 x 61.6 cm) - Credit Line
- Funds given by Anabeth Calkins and John Weil, Mr. and Mrs. Donald L. Bryant Jr., the Siteman Contemporary Art Fund, the Henry L. and Natalie Edison Freund Charitable Trust, Museum Purchase, the Honorable and Mrs. Thomas F. Eagleton, Eleanor J. Moore, Gary Wolff, Nancy Singer, and bequest of Helen K. Baer, by exchange
- Rights
- © 2008 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn
- Object Number
- 17:1999
NOTES
Resting inside one of Joseph Beuys’s characteristic glass display cases, this sculpture is an iron cast of an old-fashioned back support, originally made from leather or plaster. The purpose of this object—to hold a person whose back is injured or to support someone whose backbones are too weak—becomes a metaphor for Beuys’s artistic project. The sculpture addresses individual and universal suffering, as well as the role of art as a means of healing and spiritual strengthening.
Provenance
Edition Seriaal, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
Private Collection, Bochum, Germany
by 1997 - 1999
Michael Werner Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Cologne, Germany [1]
1999 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Michael Werner Gallery [2]
Notes:
The main source of this provenance is an email from Michael Werner Gallery dated August 1, 2003 [SLAM document files]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] In 1997, Michael Werner Gallery exhibited an edition of the "Backrest," which was most likely SLAM's edition ["Lehmbruck / Beuys." Cologne: Michael Werner Gallery, 1997, no. 22].
[2] Invoice from Michael Werner Gallery dated April 1, 1999 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 14 1999.
Konrad Fischer Galerie, Düsseldorf, Germany
Private Collection, Bochum, Germany
by 1997 - 1999
Michael Werner Gallery, New York, NY, USA; Cologne, Germany [1]
1999 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Michael Werner Gallery [2]
Notes:
The main source of this provenance is an email from Michael Werner Gallery dated August 1, 2003 [SLAM document files]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[1] In 1997, Michael Werner Gallery exhibited an edition of the "Backrest," which was most likely SLAM's edition ["Lehmbruck / Beuys." Cologne: Michael Werner Gallery, 1997, no. 22].
[2] Invoice from Michael Werner Gallery dated April 1, 1999 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Collections Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, April 14 1999.