The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Mother with Child

1958

Isamu Noguchi

(American, 1904–1988)
America
white marble
Overall: 110.5 x 23 x 23.6 cm (43 1/2 x 9 1/16 x 9 5/16 in.); with base: 204.4 x 45.8 x 45.8 cm (80 1/2 x 18 1/16 x 18 1/16 in.)
Contemporary Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art 1966.48
© The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Noguchi said, "You can find out how to do something and then do it, or do something and then find out what you did."

Description

American sculptor Isamu Noguchi carved Mother with Child from a from a single block of marble. Its abstract forms consist of two smooth cylindrical shapes enveloped by a horizontal band having a greater degree of texture. The sculpture’s composition suggests the bond of human intimacy indicated by its title.
  • [Sable Gallery, New York]
    Nelson Rockefeller (1908–1979), purchased c. 1959
    [Cordier & Ekstrom, New York, NY]
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, purchased in 1966.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 201 archive.org
    Stechow, Wolfgang. "Cleveland's Golden Anniversary Acquisitions." Artnews 65, no. 5 (September 1966): 30-64. Reproduced: p. 33; Mentioned: p. 64
    Henning, Edward B. “Two New Contemporary Sculptures.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 54, no. 7 (September 1967): 219–227. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 220-222, fig. 1 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 201 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 253 archive.org
    Henning, Edward B. Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Published by the Cleveland Museum of Art in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1987. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 136, no. 47
  • Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 16-November 8, 1987).
    Whitney Museum, NY, 1968: "Isamu Noguchi Retrospective"
    CMA 1966: "Golden Anniversary Acquisitions," Bulletin LIII (September 1966), repr. p. 245, listed p. 284
    Fifty Years of Modern Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 15-July 31, 1966).
    CMA 1966: "Fifty Years of Modern Art, cat. #135, repr.
    CMA 1987: "Creativity in Art and Science, 1860-1960," cat. #47, p. 136, repr.
    Stable Gallery, NY, 1959
  • {{cite web|title=Mother with Child|url=false|author=Isamu Noguchi|year=1958|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.48