Battle-Axe with Dragon Head

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 At the time this sculpture was created, the artist discussed its art historical references: "The chair is like a ladder with steps, the box is like a house, the girl is like a Greek caryatid holding up the roof .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."