Harps
Peter Blume
American, 1906–1992
1932
A pencil on paper drawing in which Blume arranges several concert harps into a single, almost architectural composition to examine their elegant curves, mechanical parts, and spatial tensions.
The harps’ familiar shapes multiply and interlock into a rhythmic chorus of strings, carved heads, and planes, with crisp shading that makes wood and ornament read like overlapping, slightly uncanny sculptures.
Dating from 1932, the drawing bridges Precisionist clarity and Surrealist oddness, using meticulous draftsmanship to turn a musical instrument into a study of modern form, mechanics, and the uncanny in everyday objects.
Medium
Pencil on paper
Dimensions
13 3/4 x 16 3/4" (34.9 x 42.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Accession
32.1935
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
