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Sibley Smith

Rural Nocturne

Maker

Sibley Smith (American, b. 1908)

Title

Rural Nocturne

Year

1938

Medium

  • watercolor,
  • ink,
  • and charcoal with scraping on paper

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

  • watercolor,
  • ink,
  • and charcoal with scraping on paper

Materials

watercolor, ink

Supports

  • heavy watercolor board

Dimensions

57.8 x 39.1 cm (22 3/4 x 15 3/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Signed in LR:Sibley Smith 38

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

40.154

Type

  • Drawings and Watercolors

Publications

  • Journal

Manual / Issue 19: Many Moons

Approximately thirteen moons ago, I asked myself: Is it possible to live under a lunar calendar?

What would such a life reveal? What happens when you measure life in months instead of years? How would you interface with the databases that underlie digitized capitalism? Where to begin?

One begins with one’s own body, of course. Has science fiction taught us nothing?

—Badly Licked Bear, introduction

 

Manual 19 looks up to the skies to consider astronomy and space travel and ponder broader, more ancient associations, including the night in all its inky glory; tides, time, and calendars; the feminine; reflections and mirrors; love and enduring companionship; and lunacy, strangeness, and magic.

Exhibition History

Modernism in the Americas
Jun 20, 2003 – Aug 31, 2003
Tradition and Innovation in American Watercolors
Jan 27, 1999 – Apr 11, 1999
Early Modernism in America
Feb 24, 1995 – Apr 16, 1995
Gifts from the Rhode Island Foundation
Jan 06, 1989 – Feb 26, 1989

Image use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use.

In copyright This object is in copyright

Tombstone

Sibley Smith (American, b. 1908)
Rural Nocturne, 1938
Watercolor, ink, and charcoal with scraping on paper
57.8 x 39.1 cm (22 3/4 x 15 3/8 inches)
Jesse Metcalf Fund 40.154

To request new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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