©1973, Dorothy Dehner
On view
Modern Art
Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Gallery
Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Gallery
Cenotaph #1,
1973
Dorothy Dehner, 1901–1994; born Cleveland, OH; died New York, NY; active New York
2003-236
Trained as a painter and a printmaker, Dehner began making planar sculptures cast in bronze when she was in her fifties. The word cenotaph, derived from a Greek word meaning “empty tomb,” refers to a funerary monument honoring a person or group whose remains are deposited elsewhere. The tall, vertical form of Dehner’s sculpture was inspired by ancient Greek stelae, which were erected at burial sites to commemorate the deceased. The shapes she employed—squares, ellipses, wedges, and arcs—are ambiguous forms with both personal and universal significance.
Information
Title
Cenotaph #1
Dates
1973
Maker
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
185.4 × 56 × 38 cm (73 × 22 1/16 × 14 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Dorothy Dehner Foundation for the Visual Arts
Object Number
2003-236
Culture
Type
Materials
Donated to the Princeton University Art Museum by the Dorothy Dehner Foundation for the Visual Arts, 2003.
