id:			169488
accession number:	2011.32
share license status:	Copyrighted
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2011.32
updated:		

The Principal Wife, 1984. Sheila Hicks (American, b. 1934). Linen, rayon, acrylic yarns; overall: 254 x 203.2 x 20.4 cm (100 x 80 x 8 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Watson K. Blair 2011.32

title:				The Principal Wife
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1984
creation date earliest:		1984
creation date latest:		1984
current location:		
creditline:			Gift of Watson K. Blair
copyright:			

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culture:	America, 20th century
technique:	linen, rayon, acrylic yarns
department:	Textiles
collection:	T - Contemporary Fiber Art
type:		Textile
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

* Sheila Hicks (American, b. 1934)  - artist

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measurements: Overall: 254 x 203.2 x 20.4 cm (100 x 80 x 8 1/16 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		Contemporary Gallery Reinstallation 2021
	opening date:   2021-04-20T04:00:00
	<i>Contemporary Gallery Reinstallation 2021</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

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PROVENANCE

	Collection of José and Watson Blair
	date: 1984–2011
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	citations: 	


	Watson K. Blair, Hobe Sound, FL, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
	date: 2011
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2011–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact:
Hicks has studied textile traditions in South America, Mexico, Morocco, and India throughout her six-decade career, and combines indigenous techniques with modernist ideals to create her hanging fiber works.

digital description:


wall description:
<em>The Principal Wife</em> is part of a larger series by the pioneering fiber artist Sheila Hicks. To make these works Hicks wraps bundles of undyed linen thread with brightly dyed thread at random intervals to form dynamic hangings that cascade down the wall. Like an object found in nature, this sculpture combines both structure and spontaneity. The linen fibers are fastidiously wrapped in colored threads, while the organic draping of the fiber bundles is left to gravity.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

	Simon, Joan, Sheila Hicks, Susan C. Faxon, and Whitney Chadwick. Sheila Hicks: 50 Years. Andover, Mass: Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, 2010
	page number: 	
	url:		

	Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
	page number: 	Mentioned and reproduced: P. 371
	url:		

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IMAGES