On the Tundra
Martin Puryear
(American, born in 1941)
1986
Medium/TechniqueCast iron
Dimensions49.5 x 24.1 x 29.2cm (19 1/2 x 9 1/2 x 11 1/2 in.)
Credit LineCurator's Grant Program of the Peter Norton Family Foundation
Accession number1991.620
On View
On viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
This minimalist sculptural form suggests a falcon perched on a rock, birds which have fascinated Puryear since his youth. Created in an edition of five, each falcon sculpture bears a slightly different color patina, relating the work to the range in color of falcons themselves. Puryear draws a symbolic parallel in "On the Tundra" between the long-distance migratory patterns of falcons and African American identity and nomadic societies.
ProvenanceThe artist; with Donald Young Gallery, Chicago; to MFA, Boston, September 25, 1991
