Amon Carter print details
A large black sculpture made up of different sized stacked boxes containing smaller objects, all painted black.

Lunar Landscape

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988)

Object Details

  • Date

    1959-1960

  • Object Type

    Sculptures

  • Medium

    Painted wood

  • Dimensions

    86 x 49 x 14 in.

  • Inscriptions

    Signed in several places: NEVELSON 1960 NEVELSON 1959 NEVELSON 1959 NEVELSON 1959 NEVELSON 1960 NEVELSON 1960

    Element A:

    bottom, in graphite, upside down: 6190-M

    Verso, c. on label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    11 x 3.5 x 3 inches

    Element B:

    bottom, u.l. in graphite: 6190-M

    top, u.l. inscribed: NEVELSON \ 1960

    Verso, u.r. on label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    17.25 x13.75 x 6.5 inches

    Element C:

    Recto: u.l. inscribed on circular element: NEVELSON \ 1959

    Verso, u.l. on label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    43.25 x 18.25 x 8 inches

    Element D:

    top, along left side, in graphite: 6190-M-I

    Verso: u.c. inscribed: NEVELSON \ 1959

    Verso, u.c. on [removed] label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    47.5 x 5.75 x 7.25 inches

    Element E:

    Verso: u.c. inscribed: NEVELSON \ 1959

    Verso, u.r. on label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    43.75 x 22 x 10 inches

    Element F: 13.75 x 17.5 x 6.5 inches

    Element G: 15.5 x 9 x 7.25 inches

    Element H: 12.25 x 19.25 x 9 inches

    Element I: 18 x 17.75 x 6.25 inches

    Element J: 12 x 49 x 12.5 inches

    Element F:

    left side, c. inscribed: NEVELSON \ 1960

    Verso, u.r. on label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    Element G:

    Verso, u.l. on label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    Element H:

    Verso, u.r. on label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    Element I:

    top, c. in graphite: 6190-M [painted over]

    Verso, u.r. on label: PACE \ LUNAR LANDSCAPE WALL [typewritten] \ the pace gallery 125 newbury street, boston \ arnold glincher, director congress 2-9383

    bottom, lower right, inscribed upside down: NEVELSON \ 1960

    Element J:

    [none]

  • Credit Line

    Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, Purchase with funds from the Ruth Carter Stevenson Acquisitions Endowment

  • Accession Number

    1999.3.A-J

  • Copyright

    Public domain

Object Description

Nevelson scavenged wooden objects from New York City debris piles to create monumental relief constructions, which broke the taboo that only male artists could create large-scale sculptures. In this one, she incorporated disparate parts like a bedpost, juggling pin, and seat fragment, nailing and gluing them into boxes that reflect the influence of Cubism’s geometric abstraction of space and form. Believing that these found objects arranged in different configurations called to mind the moon’s surface, the sculptor painted everything black to unify the work and amplify its crater-like appearance. When Nevelson exhibited such pieces, she illuminated them in theatrical black light to give them a dramatic look as she wanted viewers to feel immersed within the objects’ environments.

Additional details

Location: On view
W28-artist-CMYK-CarterBlack
See more by Louise Nevelson

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Educator Resources

  • What is assemblage art? What is the history of assemblage art?

    How does an artist balance, unity, and variety within a work of art?

    How might a work of art reflect an artist’s experiences?

    How might a work of art reflect or relate to important moments in history?

  • Grades 4–12

    Students will think of a place they have never been but would like to explore. They should consider which objects they would use to create their own assemblage inspired by this place. Students will write about which objects they might choose and why. Then they will sketch their assemblage.

    Grades 6–12

    Students will use wood scraps and other found objects to create their own assemblage. A cardboard box can be used for the base and students can choose whether or not to paint the box and their objects one solid color before using hot glue or wood glue to assemble their sculpture.

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