Collections: Contemporary Art: Girl on a Chair

• Avatar
• Add To Favorites
• Share
• Print

This image is presented as a "thumbnail" because it is protected by copyright. The Brooklyn Museum respects the rights of artists who retain the copyright to their work.

Girl on a Chair

George Segal was an innovator in sculpture known for his installations of white plaster figures with ghostly appearances. He depicted the dignity in everyday life, showing people poised at a bus stop, paused before a traffic intersection, or conversing on a park bench. Segal's work also took on political themes such as the Holocaust and gay pride. At the time this sculpture was created, the artist discussed its art historical references: "The chair is like a ladder with steps, the box is like a house, the girl is like a Greek caryatid holding up the roof . . . I've always liked the hardness and softness combined, this wedding of organic and geometric."

• Artist: George Segal, American, 1924-2000
• Medium: Plaster, wood and paints
• Dates: 1970
• Dimensions: 36 x 24 x 11 3/4 in. (91.4 x 61.0 x 29.8 cm)
• Signature: Unsigned
• Collections: Contemporary Art
• Museum Location: This item is on view in American Identities: A New Look, 5th floor
• Accession Number: 78.213
• Credit Line: Gift of Frederick E. Sherman
• Image: Overall, 78.213_view2_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
George Segal (American, 1924-2000). Girl on a Chair, 1970. Plaster, wood and paints, 36 x 24 x 11 3/4 in. (91.4 x 61.0 x 29.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, 78.213 (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 78.213_view2_bw.jpg)