David Smith

Abstract expressionist sculptor and painter David Smith worked as a riveter and welder at automotive factories before devoting himself to art. Interested in the painterly potential of sculpture, he built his works by welding together found objects, machine parts, and forged metal. His style evolved from early Surrealist and Expressionist tendencies (influenced by Pablo Picasso, Russian Constructivism, Piet mondrian, and Alberto Giacommeti's biomorphic forms) to late masterpieces of geometric abstraction. His last work, Cubi XXVII (1965), part of a series of towering stainless steel sculptures meant to be installed outdoors, broke the auction price record for postwar art at Sotheby's in 2005.