The Tate Gallery has acquired “Wagon II” (1964), the most important work by the American sculptor David Smith to remain in private hands. It has been purchased from Candida and Rebecca Smith, the artist’s daughters, for $5.1 million. The purchase has been funded largely through the American Fund for the Tate Gallery, with assistance from the National Art Collections Fund, Britain’s independent arts charity. Smith (1906-1965) was the most important sculptor of the Abstract Expressionist movement and was the subject of a major retrospective in 1966, shortly after his untimely death in a road accident. “Wagon II” was made after a trip to Spoleto, Italy. Nicolas Serota, director of the Tate, called the work “one of the most important works to enter the Tate’s collection in the last decade.”
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as 'David Smith for Tate'