The Cat
Artist
Isamu Noguchi
(American, 1904 - 1988)
CultureAmerican
Datedesigned 1939, made 2005
MediumBlown and engraved glass
Dimensions16 in. (40.6 cm) diameter
InscribedInscribed along the bottom edge: “Steuben, 2/25 Isamu Noguchi.”
PortfolioDesigns in Glass by Twenty-Seven Contemporary Artists
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number2016.14
Not on view
DescriptionThis object is a circular panel of blown glass with an engraved cat in the center. The glass is mounted on a metal stand. Inscribed along the bottom edge: “Steuben, 2/25 Isamu Noguchi.”Label TextIsamu Noguchi, designer American, 1904–1988 Steuben Glass, Inc., manufacturer American, Corning, New York, 1903–2011 The Cat, 1939 From the series Designs in Glass by Twenty-Seven Contemporary Artists Blown and engraved glass, produced 2005 In the late 1930s Steuben Glass solicited designs from 27 prominent living artists to be engraved on a series of plates and bowls. These images filled the broad open spaces of geometrically simple wares, creating sophisticated decorative objects more appropriate for display than for everyday use. Study of Japanese scroll paintings inspired the sleek outline of a cat on this plate, designed by sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Other featured artists included Henri Matisse, Salvador Dalí, and Georgia O’Keeffe, and their celebrity solidified Steuben’s reputation as America’s leading maker of fine art glass. Museum purchase 2016.14 ProvenanceA Cohasset, Massachusetts Estate. The Noguchi Museum, Long Island City, New York, June 2005. Purchased at auction from Grogan and Company, Boston (June 5, 2016; sale 154, lot 372) by Chrysler Museum of Art, June 2016.
