Skip Navigation

Annunciation

Kiki Smith

Contemporary Art

Kiki Smith’s Annunciation continues the artist’s long exploration of monumental sculptures of women that examine both the physical and psychological aspects of the body within a feminist context. The figure, with its suit and bald head, is gender-neutral. Its oversize head, delicate features, and dangling feet convey a sense of vulnerability, while its upraised eyes and outstretched arm suggest engagement in a rich inner life. Drawing upon her Catholic upbringing, Smith uses the Annunciation—the angel Gabriel’s revelation to the Virgin Mary that she will conceive Jesus—as a metaphor for the moment of creative inspiration.
MEDIUM Cast aluminum, wood
DATES 2008
DIMENSIONS 61 1/2 x 32 x 19 in. (156.2 x 81.3 x 48.3 cm) Chair: 19 3/4 x 19 3/4 x 13 3/4 in. (50.2 x 50.2 x 34.9 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Contemporary Art
ACCESSION NUMBER 2011.78a-b
CREDIT LINE Purchased with funds given by John and Barbara Vogelstein, Alan and Leslie Beller, Constance and Henry Christensen III, Nikola Duravcevic and Dana Ben-Ari, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Leslie and David Puth, Elizabeth A. Sackler, John S. Tamagni, Barbara and Bill Wynne and Designated Purchase Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Kiki Smith (American, born Germany, 1954). Annunciation, 2008. Cast aluminum, wood, 61 1/2 x 32 x 19 in. (156.2 x 81.3 x 48.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by John and Barbara Vogelstein, Alan and Leslie Beller, Constance and Henry Christensen III, Nikola Duravcevic and Dana Ben-Ari, Stephanie and Tim Ingrassia, Leslie and David Puth, Elizabeth A. Sackler, John S. Tamagni, Barbara and Bill Wynne and Designated Purchase Fund , 2011.78a-b. © artist or artist's estate (Photo: Photography by Kerry Ryan McFate, courtesy The Pace Gallery, CUR.2011.78a-b_threequarter_McFate_Pace_photograph_47056_02_SMITH_v02.jpg)
EDITION Edition: Cast 2 of 3, from an edition of 3 plus 2 APs
IMAGE overall, CUR.2011.78a-b_threequarter_McFate_Pace_photograph_47056_02_SMITH_v02.jpg. Photography by Kerry Ryan McFate, courtesy The Pace Gallery
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT © Kiki Smith, courtesy of Pace Gallery
Copyright for this work may be controlled by the artist, the artist's estate, or other rights holders. A more detailed analysis of its rights history may, however, place it in the public domain. The Museum does not warrant that the use of this work will not infringe on the rights of third parties. It is your responsibility to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions before copying, transmitting, or making other use of protected items beyond that allowed by "fair use," as such term is understood under the United States Copyright Act. For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org. If you wish to contact the rights holder for this work, please email copyright@brooklynmuseum.org and we will assist if we can.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.