Dance Columns I and II - Seattle, WA - Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculptures on Waymarking.com

Visitors to a plaza on the corner of 3rd Ave and Spring St will see two inconspicuous bronze sculptures of two nude women, each standing on a tall, bronze column. They appear to be stretching their legs in preparation to dance, hence the title of this piece. Each bronze column contains silhouettes of females in various poses which adorn the columns, with only certain body parts jutting out, such as a head and torso, or a hip and leg, or an arm and breast. These partial female figures make the columns come alive with movement, as if they are dancing around the columns in a fluid-like state.

The AIC description says the following:

Two sculptures, each of a nude female dancer standing in a warm up position ... Sculptures were moved to storage in 1990. The sculptures were previously located at the 1111 Third Avenue Building owned by Wright & Runstad & Company.

Based off the AIC description, the sculptures are no longer in storage and are now proudly displayed back in the plaza. There is a plaque on the Howard Wright building next to this plaza that commemorates Mr. Wright (pictures provided). There is a Starbucks located in the back of the plaza and a small gift shop located in the front corner. I also found out that these sculptures were a privately commissioned piece in 1979, so the AIC's creation date of this piece is incorrect.

The artist who created these sculptures was Robert Graham, a very prolific artist who died December 27, 2008. He created many great civic monuments for cities all over the country but his main work was displayed in Southern California, particularly in Venice, CA, where he resided up until his death. He was also married to actress Angelica Huston, a fact that I found interesting. These two nude statues are among his catalog of prior works and can be viewed on his personal website here. There is also a good obituary writeup from the LA Times and can be read about in more detail here.

It is obvious after looking at the portfolio of Robert Graham's works that he was fascinated by the female figure and it shows in these two sculptures in the plaza. The bulk of his work over the decades is of the female nude form. He was in the process of transitioning into utilizing other mediums such as glass and concrete to create the human form when he passed away.

TITLE: Dance Columns I and II ARTIST(S): Robert Graham DATE: 1982 MEDIUM: Bronze CONTROL NUMBER: IAS WA000224 Direct Link to the Individual Listing in the Smithsonian Art Inventory: [Web Link] PHYSICAL LOCATION: Howard Wright Building Plaza Corner of 3rd Ave & Spring St. Seattle, WA DIFFERENCES NOTED BETWEEN THE INVENTORY LISTING AND YOUR OBSERVATIONS AND RESEARCH: There are two major differences in the AIC description and my observation with the two sculptures. The date of creation is incorrect. This piece was a privately commissioned piece in 1979 and the artist's website states this. Also, the description says this piece is in storage when in fact it resides in the plaza next to the Howard Wright building in downtown Seattle, WA. *NOTE* AIC has my permission to use the pictures I've provided when creating this waymark for their database. ~Doug Halvorsen (thebeav69)

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