Claes Oldenburg

Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish-born American sculptor best known for his public art installations, typically featuring large replicas of everyday objects. Another theme in his work is soft sculpture versions of everyday objects. Many of his works were made in collaboration with his wife, Coosje van Bruggen, who died in 2009; they had been married for 32 years. Oldenburg lived and worked in New York City.

Works in Collection

91 works

"Empire" ("Papa") Ray Gun

Claes Oldenburg

1959

1¢ Life

Pierre Alechinsky

1963–64, published 1964

7 Objects in a Box

Allan D'Arcangelo

1965–66, published 1966

A Sock and 15 Cents (Studies for Store Objects)

Claes Oldenburg

1961, dated 1962

Apple Core, Black & White State

Claes Oldenburg

1989–91

Baked Potato from 7 Objects in a Box

Claes Oldenburg

1966

Bat Spinning at the Speed of Light (State II)

Claes Oldenburg

1975

Boom (folio 11) from Stamped Indelibly

Claes Oldenburg

1967

Characters and Props from "Il Corso del Coltello" Along t...

Claes Oldenburg

1986

Claes Oldenburg: Projects for Monuments

Claes Oldenburg

1967

Clinical Study, towards a Heroic-Erotic Monument in the A...

Claes Oldenburg

1965

Colossal Fag End, Dream State

Claes Oldenburg

1967

Colossal Fag Ends, Installed on Doberman Estate, Westphal...

Claes Oldenburg

1967

Colossal Monument with Mushroom and Screw (Project for Jo...

Claes Oldenburg

1987

Colossal Tea Bags in City Square

Claes Oldenburg

1976

Design for a Tunnel Entrance in the Form of Nose

Claes Oldenburg

1968

Double page headpiece (pages 136 and 137) from 1¢ Life

Claes Oldenburg

1964

Double page plate (pages 172 and 173) from 1¢ Life

Claes Oldenburg

1964

Dropped Cup of Coffee: Preliminary study for "Image of th...

Claes Oldenburg

1967

Empire Sign - With M and I Deleted

Claes Oldenburg

1960

False Food Selection

Claes Oldenburg

1966

False Food Selection

Claes Oldenburg

c. 1966

Flag to Fold in the Pocket

Claes Oldenburg

1960

Floor Cake

Claes Oldenburg

1962

Exhibitions

68 exhibitions

Dec 19, 1961 – Feb 25, 1962

Recent Acquisitions

88 artists

Nov 20, 1962 – Jan 13, 1963

Recent Acquisitions

77 artists

May 22, 1963 – Aug 18, 1963

Americans 1963

15 artists · 1 curator

May 27, 1964

Painting and Sculpture from the Museum Collection

169 artists

Sep 15, 1964 – Oct 24, 1964

Contemporary Painters and Sculptors as Printmakers

92 artists · 1 curator

Sep 13, 1966 – Nov 02, 1966

London/New York/Hollywood: A New Look in Prints

16 artists · 1 curator

Jun 28, 1967 – Sep 24, 1967

The 1960s: Painting and Sculpture from the Museum Collection

107 artists · 2 curators

Dec 04, 1967 – Sep 10, 1968

Frank O'Hara/In Memory of My Feelings

31 artists · 2 curators

Jan 17, 1968 – Mar 04, 1968

The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection

55 artists · 1 curator

Mar 27, 1968 – Jun 09, 1968

Dada, Surrealism and their Heritage

94 artists · 1 curator

Feb 18, 1969 – Mar 30, 1969

Drawings: Recent Acquisitions

17 artists · 1 curator

Sep 23, 1969 – Nov 23, 1969

Claes Oldenburg

1 artist · 2 curators

Sep 23, 1969 – Nov 30, 1969

Claes Oldenburg

1 artist · 1 curator

May 23, 1970 – Aug 31, 1970

Pop Art Prints, Drawings, and Multiples

25 artists · 1 curator

May 23, 1970 – Aug 31, 1970

Popular Mechanics in Printmaking

25 artists · 1 curator

May 23, 1970 – Aug 31, 1970

Preliminary Drawings

27 artists · 1 curator

Nov 10, 1970 – Apr 21, 1971

The Nude: Thirty 20th-Century Drawings

24 artists · 1 curator

Feb 11, 1971 – Mar 11, 1971

Recent American Acquisitions

16 artists · 1 curator

May 05, 1971 – Jul 06, 1971

Technics and Creativity: Selections from Gemini G.E.L.

14 artists · 1 curator

Jul 01, 1971 – Sep 27, 1971

The Artist as Adversary

140 artists · 1 curator

Jul 28, 1971 – Nov 01, 1971

Ways of Looking

132 artists · 1 curator

Mar 01, 1972 – May 29, 1972

Drawn in America

44 artists · 1 curator

Oct 25, 1972 – Feb 05, 1973

Etchings Etc.

26 artists · 1 curator

Mar 07, 1973 – Jun 04, 1973

Works on Paper

58 artists

Mar 22, 1973 – May 09, 1973

Prints of the Sixties

12 artists · 1 curator

Sep 25, 1974 – Oct 20, 1974

Works from Change, Inc.

18 artists

Dec 03, 1974 – Mar 03, 1975

American Prints: 1913–1963

84 artists · 2 curators

May 21, 1975 – Sep 01, 1975

Prints by Sculptors

43 artists · 1 curator

Dec 09, 1975 – Mar 07, 1976

A Museum Menagerie

57 artists · 1 curator

Jan 23, 1976 – Mar 09, 1976

Drawing Now: 1955–1975

45 artists · 1 curator

Nov 23, 1976 – Feb 20, 1977

Prints: Acquisitions, 1973–1976

81 artists · 1 curator

Mar 17, 1977 – May 30, 1977

Bookworks

108 artists · 1 curator

Apr 18, 1977 – Jun 26, 1977

Artists by Artists

43 artists · 1 curator

Sep 26, 1977 – Nov 28, 1977

Dream/Reality/Dream

33 artists · 1 curator

Apr 17, 1978 – Jul 04, 1978

Art for Corporations

34 artists

Jul 10, 1978 – Sep 05, 1978

Selections from the Art Lending Service

26 artists

Nov 16, 1978 – Feb 20, 1979

Recent Acquisitions: American Prints

10 artists · 1 curator

May 18, 1979 – Aug 07, 1979

Contemporary Sculpture: Selections from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art

55 artists · 1 curator

Jun 04, 1979 – Jul 30, 1979

Views over America

35 artists · 1 curator

Dec 06, 1979 – Feb 10, 1980

Movin'

27 artists · 1 curator

Feb 13, 1980 – Apr 01, 1980

Printed Art: A View of Two Decades

82 artists · 1 curator

May 14, 1980 – Sep 30, 1980

Around Picasso

23 artists

Aug 20, 1981 – Oct 06, 1981

Words and Pictures

49 artists · 1 curator

Oct 15, 1981 – Jan 03, 1982

Prints: Acquisitions 1977–1981

74 artists · 1 curator

Mar 01, 1982 – Mar 16, 1982

A Century of Modern Drawing, 1881–1981

59 artists · 1 curator

Jun 17, 1982 – Oct 14, 1982

For 25 Years: Prints from ULAE

19 artists · 1 curator

Oct 26, 1983 – Jan 03, 1984

The Modern Drawing: 100 Works on Paper from The Museum of Modern Art

81 artists · 1 curator

May 17, 1984

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Prints and Illustrated Books

99 artists · 2 curators

May 17, 1984

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Drawings

61 artists · 2 curators

Dec 08, 1984 – May 20, 1985

Contemporary Drawings

38 artists · 1 curator

Feb 15, 1985 – Mar 17, 1985

Reinstallation of the Contemporary Galleries

37 artists

Apr 10, 1985 – Oct 27, 1985

Philip Johnson: Selected Gifts

20 artists · 2 curators

Nov 21, 1985 – Apr 01, 1986

Contemporary Works from the Collection

40 artists · 1 curator

Apr 11, 1986 – Oct 09, 1986

Contemporary Works from the Collection

51 artists · 1 curator

Apr 26, 1986 – Sep 02, 1986

Sculptors' Drawings

41 artists · 1 curator

Nov 06, 1986 – Mar 31, 1987

Contemporary Works from the Collection

46 artists · 1 curator

Jan 24, 1987 – Jun 14, 1987

Drawings Acquisitions

65 artists · 1 curator

May 22, 1987 – Jul 26, 1987

American Prints, 1960–1985

25 artists · 1 curator

Jun 25, 1987 – Oct 13, 1987

Drawing since 1940

58 artists · 1 curator

Dec 24, 1987 – Sep 12, 1988

Contemporary Works from the Collection

53 artists · 1 curator

Jan 31, 1988 – Apr 19, 1988

Committed to Print

125 artists · 1 curator

Apr 01, 1988 – Jul 17, 1988

Rauschenberg, 34 Drawings for Dante's "Inferno" and Selections from the Drawings Collection

7 artists · 1 curator

Apr 01, 1988 – May 15, 1988

In Honor of Toiny Castelli: Drawings from the Toiny and Leo Castelli Collection

12 artists · 1 curator

Nov 03, 1988 – Feb 28, 1989

Collage: Selections from the Permanent Collection

42 artists · 2 curators

Feb 24, 1989 – Sep 26, 1989

Contemporary Works from the Collection: American Sculpture from the 1960s

7 artists · 1 curator

Mar 16, 1989 – Jul 04, 1989

Watercolors: Selections from the Permanent Collection

39 artists · 1 curator

Apr 06, 1989 – Aug 08, 1989

Master Prints from the Collection

102 artists · 1 curator

Jul 14, 1989 – Nov 01, 1989

Painters for the Theater

51 artists · 1 curator