Accession Number
1950/1.164

Title
Tahstvaat

Artist(s)
David Smith

Object Creation Date
1946

Medium & Support
cast iron and forged fabricated steel with wood base

Dimensions
30 9/16 in x 11 5/16 in x 13 5/16 in (77.63 cm x 28.73 cm x 33.81 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Label copy
The title of this sculpture, which recalls the human form, was given to it by Smith’s wife, the sculptor Dorothy Dehner. As she disclosed in a letter six years following her husband’s death, Smith likened the protuberances near the base of the figure to the female genitals. Dehner’s suggestion that the figure "was certainly putting it out" found punning resonance in a title she suggested, "Toss Twat," which Smith thought to disguise as if it were Dutch, "Tahstvaat."
Label copy from exhibition "Dreamscapes: The Surrealist Impulse," August 22 - October 25, 1998

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary;Modern and Contemporary

Rights
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Keywords
Surrealism
abstraction
modern and contemporary art
seated