Death Ship, Out of San Pedro, Adrift

1980

H. C. Westermann
American, 1922-1981

Status: On View, Gallery 227
Department: Contemporary Art

Artist: H. C. Westermann
Title: Death Ship, Out of San Pedro, Adrift
Place: United States (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1980
Medium: Ebony, brass, copper, and solder
Dimensions: 17.8 × 60.7 × 16.6 cm (7 × 23 7/8 × 6 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of Alan and Dorothy Press in acknowledgement of their family
Reference Number: 2023.2904.1-2

Dennis Adrian, H. C. Westermann, exh. cat. (London: Ernest Benn Ltd., 1980), n.p., cat. 44 (color ill.), as Death Ship, Out of San Pedro Adrift, 1980.
Kay Larson, “Sculpting Figuratively” New York Magazine, November 16, 1981, 122, as Death Ship Out of San Pedro, Adrift.
Phil Patton, “H.C. Westermann: Exit Laughing” Artnews 81, no. 1 (January 1982), 165 (ill.), as Death Ship Out of San Pedro, Adrift.
I. Michael Danoff, “H.C. Westermann (1922-1981): An Appreciation” Ohio Arts Dialogue (January-February 1982), 26 as Death Ship Out of San Pedro Adrift.
Gerald Marzorati, “H.C. Westermann: 1922-1981” Portfolio 4, no. 1 (January-February 1982), 54 (ill.), 55, as Death Ship Out of San Pedro, Adrift.
Neal Benezra, H. C. Westermann: Selections from the Alan and Dorothy Press Collection, exh. brochure (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1987), n.p. (ill.).
David King, Melani McKim-King, and John Fitz Gibbon, H. C. Westermann: West, exh. cat. (Richmond, CA: Richmond Art Center; Point Richmond, CA: King Pelican Press, 1997), 19.
Dominique Nahas, “H.C. Westermann: Death Ships” Review 5, no. 10 (February 15, 2000), 24, as Death Ship Out of San Pedro Adrift.
Michael Rooks and Lynne Warren, eds., H. C. Westermann: Exhibition Catalogue and Catalogue Raisonné of Objects, exh. cat. (Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art; New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001), 44, 167, pl. 114, (color ill.), 195, 271, 338, 366, MCA cat. rais. 319 (ill.).
Michael Rooks, Lynne Warren, Dennis Adrian, and Robert Storr, H.C. Westermann: Exhibition Catalogue, exh. cat. (Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2001), 44, 167, pl. 114, (color ill.), 195.
David McCarthy, H.C. Westermann at War: Art and Manhood in Cold War America (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2004), 132, cat. 112 (ill.).
Dennis Adrian, Germano Celant, Martin Friedman, and H. C. Westermann, H. C. Westermann, exh. cat. (Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2017), 16.
Giampaolo Bianconi, Thea Liberty Nichols, and Ed Ruscha, H. C. Westermann: Anchor Clanker, exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2025), 14, pl. 16, 100-101, pl. 16 (color ill.), 107, cat. 16.

London, Serpentine Gallery, H. C. Westermann, Dec. 5, 1980–Feb. 8, 1981, cat. 44.
New York, Xavier Fourcade, Inc., H. C. Westermann: New Sculpture and Watercolors 1978–1981, Oct. 28–Nov. 28, 1981, no cat.
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, H. C. Westermann: Selections from the Alan and Dorothy Press Collection, Mar. 13–May 3, 1987, no cat. no.
New York, Lennon, Weinberg, Inc., H. C. Westermann Deathship: Important Sculptures, Drawings, Prints, Jan. 26–Feb. 26, 2000, no cat.
Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, H. C. Westermann, Jun 30–Sept. 23, 2001, cat. 319; Washington, D.C., Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Feb 14–May 12, 2002; Los Angeles, Museum of Contemporary Art, Jun. 9–Sept. 8, 2002; Houston, Menil Collection, Oct. 4, 2002–Jan. 5, 2003.
The Art Institute of Chicago, H. C. Westermann: Anchor Clanker, May 17, 2025–May 17, 2026, cat. 16.

The artist; Xavier Fourcade, Inc., New York. Alan (1930-2021) and Dorothy Press (1933-2023), Chicago, by 1987 [Benezra 1987]; their estate; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Aug. 29, 2023.

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