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Untitled (Large female figure)

Artist John Walter Rhoden (American, 1916 - 2001)

Date1961-1963

MediumWood on stone base

DimensionsOverall: 91 1/2 × 19 × 9 inches, 225 lb. (232.41 × 48.26 × 22.86 cm, 102.06 kg)

Credit LineGift from The John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Object number2024.59

On View

Not on view

Collections

American Art

Terms

DescriptionThis is a wooden sculpture of a female figure leaning on her left hip. Her arms are close to her sides, and a small child sits on her right hip, clinging to her waist. Her hair is in two pigtail buns. Her eyes are closed, and her lips are pursed. She has bulbous cheeks and breasts. Her thighs are ample, but there is minimal definition beyond her knees, as pants or a skirt appear to flare out. Her feet are rectangular and stand on a mound. This wooden sculpture sits atop a circular stone base.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Exhibition of Paintings by Richanda Rhoden and Sculpture by John Rhoden, Djakarta, Indonesia, 1963.

Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, October 5, 2023–April 7, 2024.

Provenance

With the artist, Brooklyn, NY, 1963-2001[1];

By inheritance to his wife, Richanda Rhoden (d. 2016), Brooklyn, NY, 2001-2016;\ To The John Walter Rhoden and Richanda Phillips Rhoden Estate, Brooklyn, NY, 2016-2024;

Their gift, through the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2024 [2].

NOTES:

[1] Photographs from the Rhoden Collection and Archive website show the sculpture in an exhibition in Bali in 1963, the year it was created; it later appears in more photographs in the Rhoden’s home in the 1970s and 1980s.

[2] According to the Rhoden Collection and Archive website, “In 2017, the John Rhoden Estate selected PAFA to assume the responsibility of preserving and promoting John Rhoden's artistic legacy…. Over 275 works from the estate were transferred to PAFA. Twenty-eight works were accessioned by PAFA and the remaining will be placed into other museum collections” (including this gift to the Nelson-Atkins).

Published References

Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden (Philadelphia, PA: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 2023), 9.

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