Construction (1932-45) — Theodore Roszak

Torso Manique (Surveyor), 1932

Plaster

21 x 7 1/2 x 6 in

Collection: Theodore Roszak Estate

1932_Torso_Manique_(Surveyor)_Construction_Estate.jpg

Airport Sentinel, 1932

Copper, Aluminum, Steel, and Brass

19.5 x 7.25 inches

Collection: Newark Museum, New Jersey. Purchase 1977 The Members' Fund.

Study for Airport Structure, 1932

Graphite, colored pencil, wash, and varnish on cardboard

10 3/4 x 8 3/16 inches

Collection: Newark Museum, New Jersey. Gift of Sara Roszak (1992).

Airport Construction, 1932

Graphite pencil on wove paper

12 7/8 x 41/16 inches (325 x 102 mm)

Location: The Morgan Library & Museum, NY. Gift of the Estate of Theodore Roszak (2014).

Chrysalis, 1937

Wood, Steel, and Brass

Height: 20 in

Collection: Theodore Roszak Estate

Amorphic Form in Oval (Red), 1937

painted wood, wire

25 x 36 in

Collection: Theodore Roszak Estate

Spatial Construction Within a Circle, 1943

painted wire, wood, plastic

14 inches

Collection: Unknown

1943_Spatial_Construction_within_a_Circle_Construction_web.jpg

Pierced Bi-Polar I, 1932

Painted sheet metal, copper, and wire

25 1/2 in

Location: Theodore Roszak Estate, NY.

Pierced Bi-Polar II, 1932

Painted sheet metal, copper, wire

24 1/2 in

Collection: Unknown

1932_Pierced_Bipolar_(II)_Construction.jpg

White and Steel Polars, 1945

Painted wood, steel, iron, and plexiglas

107 x 15 15/16 x 15 15/16 inches(271.80 x 40.60 x 40.60 cm)

Collection: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund (2005).

Bi Polar in Blue, 1939

Wood and Metal

Height: 42 in

Bi-Polar Form in Yellow, 1937-38

Painted wood, steel and bronze
37 inches high

Collection: Unknown

1937-38_BiPolar_Form_Yellow_37H_Construction_Private.jpg

Bi-Polar in Form in Red I, 1938

metal, plastic, wood

26 1/4 in (high)

Collection: Unknown

1938_Bipolar_Form_in_Red_(The_Smaller)_Construction_Private.jpg

Bi Polar Form in Red II, 1940

Metal, Plastic, and Wood

54 5/16 × 8 5/8 × 8 5/8 in. (138 × 21.9 × 21.9 cm)

Collection: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Purchase, with funds from the Burroughs Welcome Purchase Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts (1979).

Bi-Polar in Red III, 1944

steel, wood

109 1/4 inches

Collection: Unknown

Bi-Polar in Red, 1945

painted wood

102 1/2 inches

Collection: Myron Kunin Collection of American Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Transverse Polar, 1942

Painted wood, ferrous metal and aluminum

22.5 x 3.5 x 3.5 inches (57.15 x 8.89 x 8.89 cm)

Collection: Sheldon Museum of Art at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Gift of Carl and Jane Rohman in honor of George W. Neubert through the University of Nebraska Foundation (2000).

1942_Transverse_Polar_Image courtesy of Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska-Lincoln..jpg

Bipolar Ascent, 1941

Bronze and wood

68 1/2 x 37 1/2 x 7 inches (173.99 x 95.25 x 17.78 cm)

Collection: University of Iowa Museum of Art. Mark Ranney Memorial Fund (1979).

Firebird, 1945-46

Monument to Lost Dirigibles Steel I, 1940

Steel and brass

22 x 1 3/4 x 2 3/4 in

Monument to Lost Dirigible II (Ascent), 1940

Stainless steel, bronze and brass

19 in height (48.3 cm)

Location: Worcester Art Museum, MA. Heald Foundation Fund and Stoddard Acquisition Fund (1997).

Roszak dedicated this construction to the German dirigible Hindenburg, which exploded in Lakehurst, New Jersey in 1937.

1938_Monument_Lost_Dirigibles_Steel_Worcester_front.jpg

Red Monument to Lost Dirigible, 1939-40

Painted wood, steel, brass, and plastic

113.25 x 5.5 inches

Collection: Chazen Museum of Art at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Purchased (1998).

1939-40_Red_Monument_Lost_Dirigible_Chazen_1998_15a-d.jpg

Ascension, 1945

Wood, paint, brass, and metal

108 1/4 x 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches (274.8 x 34.1 x 34.1 cm)

Collection: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Agnes Gund in honor of Sydney Lewis, 1991

Bipolar Form with Blue Sphere, 1938

Bipolar Form with Thin Center, 1940

Lighter Than Air, 1943

Painted wood and steel

182.9 x 118.1 cm

Collection: Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, California. Purchased in honor of the Cantor Arts Center Membership's 50th Anniversary, with gifts from Susan and John Diekman, the Robert and Ruth Halperin Foundation, the Cantor Arts Center Membership, the Kazak Fund, the Robert E. and Mary B. P. Gross Fund, and the Modern and Contemporary Art Fund (2004).

Untitled (Drawing for Lighter than Air), 1943

Pencil on paper

8-1/2 x 6-1/4 inches (215 x 160 mm)

Collection: Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University, California. Gift of Sara Jane Roszak (2004).

Untitled (Construction Drawing), 1943

Blue pencil on paper

14-5/16 x 14-1/2 inches irregular (36.3 x 36.8 cm irregular)

Collection: Cantor Center for Visual Arts Stanford University, California. Gift of Sara Jane Roszak (2004).

The Balloonist (Study for Lighter than Air), 1941

Pen and ink

8 1/2 x 11 in.

Collection: Chazen Museum of Art. Madison, Wisconsin. Terese and Alvin S. Lane Collection (2012 on loan).

Watchtower, 1939-40

wood, plastic, metal, and paint

23 1/16 x 10 3/8 x 5 1/4 inches (58.58 x 26.35 x 13.34 cm)

Collection: Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh. Fine Arts Discretionary Fund (1982)

Rectilinear Study I, 1934-35

painted wood, metal

7 x 8 5/8 in

Collection: Myron Kunin Collection of American Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota

1934-35_Rectilinear_Study_(I)_Construction_Myron_1.jpg

1934-35_Rectilinear_Study_(I)_Construction_Myron_2.jpg

Open Curve, 1933

Bronze with copper

4 1/2 X 7-1/2 X 3 1/8 inches (including base).

Collection: The Heckscher Museum of Art. Huntington, NY. Gift of the Baker/Pisano Collection (2001).

Rectilinear Study II, 1937

Painted wood, wire, and plastic

8 1/4 x 11 x 6 inches (21 x 27.9 x 15.2 cm)

Collection: Williams College Museum of Art, Massachusetts. Museum purchase, John B. Turner '24 Memorial Fund (1996).

Urban Construction, 1934-35

Wood, wire, pigment

14 x 10 1/2 x 5 3/4 inches (35.6 x 26.7 x 14.6 cm)

Collection: Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey. Museum purchase; prior gifts of J. Lester Parsons, Dr. and Mrs. Frank L. Babbott, Frederick and Sherry Ross, Elizabeth Ball and Acquisition Fund (1996).

Untitled (studies for “Urban Construction”), 1934-35

Graphite on paper

13 ½ x 8 ½ in (34.4 x 21.6 cm)

Location: Montclair Art Museum, NJ. Gift of Sarah Roszak (1996).

Untitled (studies for “Urban Construction”), 1934-35

Graphite on paper

6 ¼ x 4 1/8 in (15.9 x 10.5 cm)

Location: Montclair Art Museum, NJ. Gift of Sarah Roszak (1996).

Untitled (studies for “Urban Construction”), 1934-35

Graphite on paper

4 x 4¾ in (10.2 x 12.1 cm)

Location: Montclair Art Museum, NJ. Gift of Sarah Roszak (1996).

Rectilinear Spatial Construction (Small), 1932

Wood, plastic, metal

14 x 5 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches

Collection: Neuberger Museum of Art Purchase College, State University of New York. Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art (1978).

Study for Small Rectilinear Space Construction, 1931-32

Ink, watercolor, pencil and pencil on paper

17 1/8 x 22 1/8 inches

Collection: Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art Purchase College, State University of New York. Museum Purchase with funds provided by the Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art (1979).

Study for Rectilinear Space Construction, 1931-32

Ink, watercolor, pencil and crayon on paper

17 1/8 x 22 1/8 inches

Collection: Neuberger Museum of Art Purchase College, State University of New York. Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art (1978).

Untitled (Studies for Small Rectilinear Space Construction), 1931-32

Pencil on Graph Paper

7 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches

Collection: Neuberger Museum of Art Purchase College, State University of New York. Gift from the George and Edith Rickey Collection of Constructivist Art (1978).

Rectilinear Space Construction (Large), 1932

bronze, copper, plexiglass

16 x 6 x 6 in

3 Editions total

Collection: Unknown

1932_Rectilinear_Space_Construction_Large_(II)_Construction_ARCO.jpg

Rectilinear Spatial Construction (Large), 1941-43

Painted wood, wire, and plastic

15 3/4 x 6 1/4 x 6 1/2 in

Collection: High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA. Purchase with funds from the American Art Collectors and the Jean and Glenn Verrill Foundation, and through prior acquisitions with funds from the Friends of Art, Margaret and John L. Hoffman, and the Goldthwaite Estate, William B. and Mary Mobely Fambrough, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas K. Glenn, bequest of Mrs. Francis Pickens Bacon, Athos Rudolfo Menaboni, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Abreu, Beverly DuBose, Sr., Mrs. Charles T. Hopkins, and in memory of Byron P. Harris (2004).

Studies for Rectilinear Space Construction, 1944

Gouache on paper

18 1/8 x 30 1/8 in

Location: Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC. Museum purchase with funds from the Dillard Paper Company for the Dillard Collection (1993).

Crescent Throat, 1932

Inter-Circle Construction, 1934

Brass and steel wire

6 x 7 1/2 x 3 in

Location: Unknown

Spatial Construction, 1942-45

"The open wire or the open space where the voids were greater than the masses was the culmination point of free, almost unfettered, pure space construction."

[Theodore Roszak Interview with Elliott, February 13, 1956, p.31]

This was the last of the constructions and the transitional piece into welded sculpture.

Roszak was aware of the metal work of Naum Gabo (Pevsner) from the Bauhaus in Germany and of Julio Gonzalez from a show at the MOMA.

Spatial Construction, 1943

wood and metal

12.6 x 8.3 x 4.7 inches (32 x 21 x 12 cm; 4,4 kg)

Collection: National Museum Warsaw, Poland.

Spatial Construction, 1943

29 7/8 in

welded steel

Collection: Unknown

Spatial Construction, 1943

Steel wire, painted

23 1/2 x 17 x 10 in

Collection: Collection of Barney A. Ebsworth, Seattle, WA

1943_Spatial_Construction_(I)_Construction_Ebsworth.jpg

Spatial Construction Study II, 1943

painted wire

13 1/2 in

Collection: Theodore Roszak Estate

1943_Spatial_Construction_Study_(III)_Construction.jpg

Spatial Construction, 1944-45

welded steel

62 1/4 x 50 x 25 1/4 inches (158.12 x 127 x 64.14 cm)

Collection: Addison Gallery of American Art. Andover, New Hampshire. Museum Purchase (2007).

Large Spatial Construction, 1944-45

Welded Steel

62 x 48 x 25 in

Location: Unknown

Sentinel, 1942

welded steel

17.5 x 3 x 3 inches (44.45 x 7.62 x 7.62 cm)

Collection: Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame. Acquired with funds provided by the Walter R. Beardsley Endowment for Modern and Contemporary Art (2002).

Musical Still Life, 1931-32

Musical Still Life, 1931-32

painted plaster, wood, caning

28 1/4 x 21 x 6 in

Collection: Myron Kunin Collection of American Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Musical Still Life, 1932

Aluminum

27 1/2 x 20 1/4 inches

Collection: Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan. Bequest of Mary Mallery Davis, by exchange (2002).

Musical Still Life (Etude) , 1932

Bronze

20 1/4 x 13 1/4 x 5 1/4 in

Collection: Unknown

Harlequinade, 1938

wood, plastic wire

19 x 24.5 x 4 inches

Collection: The Collection of Ann and Graham Gund

Construction (Trajectories), 1937-39

Painted wood, wire, glass

12 3/4 x 17 x 3 1/2 inches

Collection: Collection of Barney A. Ebsworth, Seattle, Washington

1937-39_Construction_(or_Trajectories)_Construction_Ebsworth.jpg

Trajectories (Construction in Red and White), 1938

metal, wood, plastic

18 3/4 x 30 x 4 in

Collection: Private Collection, New York

1938_Trajectories_(Construction_in_Red_and_White)_Construction_Private.jpg

Amorphic Form in Black, 1939

Painted wood, steel, and wire

21 x 18 x 3 3/4 in

Location: Theodore Roszak Estate, NYC.

Construction in White and Gold, Circle Variation #2, 1938

Metal, wood, plastic, and paint

12 3/4 x 24 x 2 1/4 (32.39 x 60.96 x 5.72 cm)

Collection: Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio. Purchased with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Sisler McFawn Foundation (1977).

Tri-Circle, 1938

wood and lacquer (plastic)

21 x 48 in

Collection: Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona. Purchased (1980).

Tri-Circle in Blue, 1938

painted wood, wire, plastic

48 x 21 in

Location: Unknown

1938_Tri-Circles_(or_Circles_in_Blue)_Construction.jpg

Contrapuntal, 1936

plastic, wood

25 x 40 x 5 in

Collection: Unknown

Rectangle, Circle, Cone Construction 1939

steel, plastic, wood

20 1/2 x 24 x 6 3/4 inches

Collection: Unknown

1939_Rectangle_Circle_Cone_Construction_Construction.jpg

Elliptical Arrangements (Flight), 1937

painted wood, steel

9 7/8 x 23 7/8 x 3 in

Collection: Unknown

Flight, 1938

Wood, metal

9 7/8 x 24 1/8 x 2 7/8 (25.08 x 61.28 x 7.3 cm)

Collection: Colby Museum of Art, Maine. Gift of Lawrence Ganeau From The Collection of Jere Abbott (1983).

Involution (White Construction), 1932-33

plaster, wood, enamel, fiberglass

39 1/2 x 39 1/2 x 8 1/2 in

Collection: Theodore Roszak Estate

1932-1933_White_Construction_Construction_Rosenfeld.jpg

Bisected Circle, 1936

Within a Circle, 1939

Plastic, wood

40" x 40" x 10"

Collection: New Jersey State Museum, Trenton NJ. Museum Purchase ( 1978).

Forms in a Circle, 1940

Construction in White, 1935

Wood, lacquer, and plastic

18 3/8 × 18 3/8 × 4 1/8 inches (46.7 × 46.7 × 10.5 cm)

Location: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX. Museum purchase with additional funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts (1978).

Construction in White, 1937

Wood, masonite, plastic, acrylic and plexiglass

80 1/4 x 80 1/8 x 18 1/4 in. (203.8 x 203.6 x 46.4 cm)

Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C. Gift of the artist (1968).

Theodore Roszak donating work to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., 1968

Yellow, White, and Steel, 1942-43

painted wood, wire, stainless steel, plexiglass

25 1/2 x 31 7/8 inches

Collection: Unknown

1942-1943_Yellow,_White,_and_Steel_Construction.jpg

Pierced Circle, 1939

Painted wood, plexiglass, and wire

24 x 23 7/8 x 4 1/2 in (60.8 x 60.6 x 11.4 cm)

Collection: The Museum of Modern Art, NY. The Riklis Collection of McCrory Corporation (1983).

Forms Within an Oval, 1937

"When Theodore Roszak first imagined Forms Within an Oval in 1935 it was clear to him that there was "an emerging industrial language displacing traditional forms and transforming the 'Artist Studio' into a 'work-shop' for the modern craftsman, designer, constructor." (Theodore Roszak to Floyd Amsden, 2-6-78) With this realization in mind the sculptor made use of current industrial materials and tools. The drawing preceded the sculpture by two years, but both have the pristine clarity and exactness which recall the Russian Constructivists. Ever since the technological advances of the 1930s, sculptors have been able to use an almost limitless number of different media. Roszak was one of the earliest artists to explore the possibilities inherent in these discoveries."

[Douglas Hyland, From "Drawings to Sculpture: The Creative Process at White Gallery Spencer Museum University of Kansas.]

Wood and brass

29.5 x 16 in (75 x 40.6 cm)

Collection: Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University, Kansas (1995).

First Study for Vertical Construction, 1939

Plastic and painted wood,

24 5/16 x 12 3/4 x 4 inches (61.80 x 32.40 x 10.20 cm)

Collection: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Gift of the Cleveland Society for Contemporary Art in honor of Dr. and Mrs. Sherman E. Lee (1983)

Vertical Construction, 1943

Painted wood and acrylic

76 3/16 × 29 15/16 × 9 1/16 in. (193.5 × 76 × 23 cm)

Collection: Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. Gift of the Artist (1957).

Work Sheet with Studies for Vertical Construction, 1940

Graphite pencil and colored pencil on paper

8 1/4 × 6 1/2 in. (21 × 16.5 cm)

Location: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Gift of Sara Jane Roszak (1978).

Study for Vertical Construction, 1940

Graphite pencil and colored pencil on paper

6 3/16 × 8 5/16 in. (15.7 × 21.1 cm)

Location: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Gift of Sara Jane Roszak (1978).

Vertical Construction, 1943

Painted wood and plastic

50 x 25.5 x 8 in (127 x 64.8 x 20.3 cm)

Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA. Bequest of Elizabeth M. Petrie (2003).

Study for Vertical Construction, 1940

Graphite on wove paper, ruled in graphite

8.5 x 11 in (21.6 x 27.9 cm)

Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA. Gift of the estate of Elizabeth Petrie (2004).

Study for Vertical Construction, 1940

Graphite on wove paper

8 1/2 x 11 in (21.6 x 27.9 cm)

Location: Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA. Gift of the estate of Elizabeth Petrie (2004).

Construction in White, 1946

Construction in Red, 1946

Red Vector, 1968

Wood, steel, and nickel silver

60 x 96 in

Theodore Roszak Estate Collection.

Roszak's constructions were made from 1930-1945 early in his career before moving onto welded sculpture. In the late 1960s he made a few constructions such as "Red Vector" going back to his earlier themes.