Wolf and Goat Fire Screen

Wolf and Goat Fire Screen

1917·Cut steel, wrought iron, and steel mesh·85.1 × 113.7 × 27 cm (33 1/2 × 44 3/4 × 10 5/8 in.)

<p>William Hunt Diedrich consistently sought to capture dynamic imagery in his works, most often through compositions featuring animals engaged in combat or play. This fire screen represents one of the artist’s most powerful realizations of this goal. Against a finely wrought background of wire mesh, a cut-steel wolf and goat are entwined in a circular dance of death. The jagged edges of the animals’ tails and fur not only add to the malevolence of their combat but also function as the tabs that attach the silhouettes to the screen. The wavelike rhythm of the screen adds to the dramatic impression of continuous movement.</p>

Catalogue

Year
1917
Dimensions
85.1 × 113.7 × 27 cm (33 1/2 × 44 3/4 × 10 5/8 in.)

Artist

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich
Wilhelm Hunt Diederich

Sculpture

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich was an American sculptor whose wrought iron and bronze works combined Art Deco geometry with animal and figurative forms rendered in bold, linear silhouettes. Working primarily in the early twentieth century, his sculptures transformed decorative metalwork into a vehicle for modernist formal invention. His work appeared in major institutional surveys at MoMA during the 1930s, establishing him as a significant figure in American modernism between the wars.

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Panel

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Record

Verified by WattsOS
Year
1917
Dimensions
85.1 × 113.7 × 27 cm (33 1/2 × 44 3/4 × 10 5/8 in.)
Watts ID
WW-1917-126267

Source

Source
aic
Status
verified

Artist

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich

Sculpture

View artist profile →