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Tahstvaat

David Smith

Artwork Details

Tahstvaat
1946
David Smith
cast iron and forged fabricated steel with wood base
30 3/4 x 11 3/8 x 13 1/4 in. (78.11 x 28.89 x 33.66 cm)
Museum Purchase
1950/1.164

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Description

The title of this sculpture, which recalls the human form, was given to it by Smith’s wife, the sculptor Dorothy Dehner. As she disclosed in a letter six years following her husband’s death, Smith likened the protuberances near the base of the figure to the female genitals. Dehner’s suggestion that the figure "was certainly putting it out" found punning resonance in a title she suggested, "Toss Twat," which Smith thought to disguise as if it were Dutch, "Tahstvaat."
Label copy from exhibition "Dreamscapes: The Surrealist Impulse," August 22 - October 25, 1998

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