Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman)

1966

H. C. Westermann
American, 1922-1981

Status: On View, Gallery 227
Department: Contemporary Art

Artist: H. C. Westermann
Title: Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman)
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.: 1966
Medium: Douglas fir, ash, cast lead, and antique shovel handle
Dimensions: 122.6 × 45.8 × 46.4 cm (48 1/4 × 18 × 18 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of Alan and Dorothy Press in acknowledgment of their family
Reference Number: 2023.2912

Martin Friedman and Jan van der Marck, Eight Sculptors: The Ambiguous Image, exh. cat. (Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 1966), 38, 42, cat. 42, Dedicated to Elie Nadelman, 1965.
Martin Friedman, “Carpenter Gothic” Artnews 66, no. 1 (March 1967), 30 (ill), as Dedicated to Elie Nadelman 1965, 30 (ill.), 75.
Max Kozloff, H. C. Westermann, exh. cat. (Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1968), 14, 31 (ill.), cat. 31, as UNTITLED (Homage to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
Lawrence Urrutia, Continuing Surrealism, exh. cat. (La Jolla, CA: La Jolla Museum of Art, 1971), n.p., cat. 53 (ill.), as Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
Barbara Haskell, H. C. Westermann, exh. cat. (New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1978), 59 (ill.), 92, as Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
John Perreault, “An Artist’s Artist” Soho Weekly News (May 25, 1978), 26, as Homage to American Art.
Nick Baldwin, “Artist of Paradox” Des Moines Sunday Register (November 19, 1978), 3B.
Neal Benezra, H. C. Westermann: Selections from the Alan and Dorothy Press Collection, exh. brochure (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1987), n.p., as Untitled (Homage to Elie Nadelman), 1965, n.p., as Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
Jill Weinberg and Bernard Lennon, H. C. Westermann: Sculpture and Drawing, exh. cat. (New York: Lennon, Weinberg, Inc., 1988), n.p. (color ill.), as Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
Bill Barrette, ed., Letters from H.C. Westermann (New York: Timken Publishing, 1988), 68, 178 as Homage to American Art.
John Blee, “Soho Eye” Art/World (October 20-November 20, 1988), 8 (ill.).
Ken Johnson, “H.C. Westermann at Lennon Weinberg” Art in America 76, no. 12 (December 1988): 150, as Homage to American Art.
Ray Kass, “H.C. Westermann” Artforum 27, no. 6 (February 1989), 132, as Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
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), 25, 28, 48, 127, pl. 57 (color ill.), 192, 259, 274, 289, MCA cat. rais. 153 (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), 25, 28, 48, 127, pl. 57 (color ill.), 192.
Michael Rooks, H.C. Westermann: Selected Work, exh. cat. (New York: Zwirner & Wirth, 2007), n.p. (color ill.).
Ken Johnson, “Humor Meets Provocation, often Sailing in on a Ship” New York Times, Nov. 6, 2015, C26.
Adam Lindermann, Billy Al Begsont, KAWS, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, and William T. Wiley, H.C. Westermann: See America First, Works from 1953–1980, exh. cat. (New York: Venus, 2016), 26, (color ill.), 29, (color ill.), 116, 117 (color ill.) 215.
Dennis Adrian, Germano Celant, Martin Friedman, H. C. Westermann, exh. cat. (Milan: Fondazione Prada, 2017), 11, 32, fig. 50 (color ill.).
Carolina García-Romeu, ed., Dennis Adrian, Jo Applin, Beatriz Velazquez, Diedrich Diederichsen, and Ana Merino, H. C. Westermann: Back Home, exh. cat. (Madrid: Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, 2019), 124, as Homage to American Art.
Dennis Adrian and Martin Friedman, Unpublished Interview with H.C. Westermann, Lowell Hotel, New York (June 28, 1966).
Giampaolo Bianconi, Thea Liberty Nichols, and Ed Ruscha, H. C. Westermann: Anchor Clanker, exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2025), 66, pl. 7, 67-69 (color ills.), 106, cat. 7.

Minneapolis, Walker Art Center, Eight Sculptors: The Ambiguous Image, Oct. 22–Dec. 4, 1966, cat. 42, as Dedicated to Elie Nadelman, 1965.
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, H. C. Westermann, Nov. 26, 1968–Jan. 12, 1969, cat. 31, as UNTITLED (Homage to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
La Jolla, CA., La Jolla Museum of Art, Continuing Surrealism, Jan. 15–Mar. 21, 1971, cat. 53, as Untitled (Homage to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, H. C. Westermann, May 17–July 16, 1978, no cat. no.; New Orleans Museum of Art, Aug. 25–Oct. 15, 1978; Des Moines Art Center, Nov. 13–Dec. 25, 1978; Seattle Art Museum, Jan. 17–Feb. 25, 1979; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Mar. 30–May 20, 1979, as Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, H. C. Westermann: Selections from the Alan and Dorothy Press Collection, Mar. 13–May 3, 1987, no cat. no., as Untitled (Homage to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
New York, Lennon, Weinberg, Inc., H. C. Westermann: Sculpture and Drawing, Oct. 7–Nov. 19, 1988, no cat. no., as Homage to American Art (Dedicated to Elie Nadelman), 1965.
Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, H. C. Westermann, Jun 30–Sept. 23, 2001, cat. 153; 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, TX, Menil Collection, Oct. 4, 2002–Jan. 5, 2003.
New York, Zwirner & Wirth, H.C. Westermann: Selected Work, Sept. 13–Nov. 3, 2007, no cat. no.
New York, Venus, H.C. Westermann: See America First, Works from 1953–1980, Nov. 2, 2015–Jan. 16, 2016, no cat. no
Milan, Fondazione Prada, H. C. Westermann, Oct. 20, 2017–Jan. 15, 2018, cat. 50.
The Art Institute of Chicago, H. C. Westermann: Anchor Clanker, May 17, 2025–May 17, 2026, cat. 7.

The artist; sold through Rolf Nelson Gallery, Los Angeles, to Jacqueline and Ulf Gerber, Beverly Hills, CA by 1968 [Kozloff 1968]. B. C. Holland, Chicago. Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles. Alan (1930-2021) and Dorothy Press (1933-2023), Chicago, by 1978 [Barbara Haskell 1978]; their estate; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, Aug. 29, 2023.

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