Persephone I

Artist George Rickey American, 1907–2002

Date1960

MediumStainless steel, brass, and lead, with marble base

Dimensions22 x 20 in. (55.9 x 50.8 cm)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Enke

Object numberG.62.12.1

On View

Not on view

Label TextAlthough this sculpture makes clear allusions to the natural world, with a title that refers to the Greek goddess symbolizing spring, the artist insisted the primary connection between his art and nature is abstract. “If my sculptures sometimes look like plants or clouds or waves of the sea, it is because they respond to the same laws of motion and follow the same mechanical principles,” Rickey stated.

Indeed, part of the fascination of this sculpture is its clever engineering. The whole, complex structure is delicately poised to whir and sway in response to the faintest breath.
[M. Brooks, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," 2022]ProvenanceCreated by the artist, 1960; Alice Erving, Montecito, CA, 1960; [Esther Bear, Esther Bear Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA]; Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Enke, Durham, NC, 1961; given to NCMA, 1962.Published References"Accessions of American and Canadian Museum, April-June 1962, The Art Quarterly 25 (Autumn 1962), listed (erroneously as Dancing Waters) 278, illus. (b-w) 280.

"Acquisitions," North Carolina Museum of Art Bulletin 4, nos. 2 and 3 (Winter-Spring 1964), mentioned 4, listed 60, illus. (b-w) 53 (erroneously as Dancing Waters).

Wayne Craven, Sculpture in America, rev. ed. (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1984), 658 (erroneously as Dancing Waters).

Maxwell Davidson III, George Rickey - The Early Works (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2004), illus. (b-w) 148.

John W. Coffey, entry for Persephone, in North Carolina Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections, rev. ed. (Raleigh: North Carolina Museum of Art, 2010), 492, illus. (color) 493.
Exhibition HistorySanta Barbara, CA, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, "George Rickey: Kinetic Sculptures," July 13–August 7, 1960. [title listed as Persephone]

Santa Barbara, CA, Esther Bear Gallery, September 1961.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, Mary Duke Biddle Education Gallery, "Of Space and Time: Motion in Art," September 1985–August 1986.

Raleigh, NC, North Carolina Museum of Art, "The People's Collection, Reimagined," October 7, 2022–January 12, 2023. Object Rights Statement

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