Modern Sculpture in the National Gallery

David Gariff, senior lecturer, National Gallery of Art. The East Building of the National Gallery of Art houses an impressive collection of modern sculptures displayed throughout its many levels. Henry Moore’s Knife Edge Mirror Two Piece, Anthony Caro’s National Gallery Ledge Piece, and the enormous mobile, Untitled, by Alexander Calder were commissioned for the opening of the building in 1978 and are prominently displayed at the entrance and in the atrium. Other large-scale works by Max Ernst, Andy Goldsworthy, Isamu Noguchi, Richard Serra, and David Smith are also found in the atrium. Throughout the upstairs galleries one can trace the history of 20th-century sculpture in parallel with the history of 20th-century painting. As part of the series Celebrating the East Building: 20th-Century Art, senior lecturer David Gariff leads a tour of the Gallery’s modern sculptures in this lecture presented on August 30, 2018, at the National Gallery of Art.