An innovative and assertive piece, ‘Aggressive Character’ holds a pivotal position in David Smith’s oeuvre, embodying the recurring visual themes that define the artist’s practice. Having been on loan to the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. for thirty-five years, this work marks the first time that stainless steel serves as the primary medium in his sculpture, a material Smith was attracted to due to its interaction with light. Foundational to his practice, ‘Aggressive Character’ builds on his experiments from the 1930s and anticipates the advancements that would unfold over his career, notably his late Cubi series. Further underscoring its significance, the sculpture has been featured in exhibitions at major institutions, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

In ‘Aggressive Character,’ the trident-shaped element protruding from its crown recalls the apex of ‘Perfidious Albion’ (1946-1947) and the three-pronged appendages seen on ‘Australia’ (1951)—one of Smith’s most important sculptures, held in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. It also gestures towards the trisected coral top of ‘Construction’ (1932). Furthermore, the box forms of ‘Aggressive Character’ connect the work to a lineage of geometric sculptures that includes ‘Unity of Three Forms’ (1937), ‘Suspended Cube’ (1938), and ultimately Smith’s monumental Cubi series (1961 – 1965).

_{Archival images: David Smith with Oculus (1947) and Aggressive Character (1947), Bolton Landing dock, Lake George, NY, c. 1947; David Smith, Aggressive Character (1947) in his workshop, Bolton Landing, NY, c. 1947 © 2024 The Estate of David Smith / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY. Photo: David Smith}