David Smith: The Nature of Sculpture is the first book to explore the artist-s deep engagement with the natural world as source, subject, and site for his art. Spanning Smith-s full career, this study features some 50 sculptures, along with related paintings, reliefs, and works on paper to reclaim the primacy of nature within his expansive oeuvre. David Smith-s adventurous approach to three-dimensional form has permanently expanded the vocabulary and range of sculptural practice. The first American artist to make welded metal sculptures and incorporate industrial means in his work, Smith-s enlistment of nature as material and prime setting for his art was equally innovative. As explored in the book-s introduction, reflections by the artist-s daughters, and an essay by Jed Morse, Smith-s creative vision is firmly rooted in landscape and the natural world.
