American, 1904-1988
Gregory (Effigy), 1945 (cast 1969) Bronze, 69 1/4 x 16 1/8 x 16 3/8 in. (175.9 x 41 x 41.6 cm.)
Raymond and Patsy Nasher Collection, Dallas, Texas
1969.A.02
Label Text
Noguchi carved the first version of Gregory (which he titled Effigy when first exhibited) in purple slate. This bronze version of the sculpture, cast in 1969, retains the graceful elegance of Noguchi's original configuration of curved planar elements. The large central plane of the composition, frontal in orientation, provides the "body" of Noguchi's fantasy figure and the support for various appendages. Three "legs" slip through slots at the bottom of this plane to hold the composition upright. Other pieces slice through the upper areas, balanced or wedged rather than welded. A single "eye" pierces the central plane at the top. Noguchi's biomorphic forms, characteristic of his work from the 1940s, derive from Picasso's bone figures of the late 1920s and Surrealist sources such as paintings by Yves Tanguy and Joan Miró.