Shelter
John S. Anderson
American, 1928–2021
1962
A hand-carved wood sculpture that arranges three gourd-like pods beneath a simple pitched frame to suggest a small, protective ‘shelter’ and to explore domestic and bodily associations.
The first impression is the warm, tactile wood grain and the flowing, bulbous shapes hanging like fruit or cradled infants beneath a crude roof, making the piece feel both functional and talismanic.
Dating from 1962, it sits within a midcentury move toward organic abstraction and craft-based sculpture, where artists used vernacular materials and forms to rethink home, protection, and human scale.
Medium
Wood
Dimensions
50 1/2 x 25 1/4 x 28 3/4" (128.3 x 64 x 73 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Larry Aldrich Foundation Fund
Accession
308.1962
Palette
Exhibitions
