Drawing for "Untitled"

American sculptor Martin Puryear is known for the elegance and refinement of his abstract, hand-made constructions, primarily in wood. Drawing has always been essential to his practice, as the exhibition Martin Puryear: Multiple Dimensions, shown at the Morgan in 2015, demonstrated. "Drawing for Untitled" -- which was included in the exhibition -- depicts an iconic image in Puryear's repertoire, harking back to the heads he drew while in Sierra Leone in the 1960s and anticipating sculptures such as Vessel, Face Down, and the Getty's That Profile of the late 1990s and 2000s. The sense of touch suggested by the blurry contours, smudges, and fingerprints on the sheet conjures up Puryear's hands-on approach to his sculpture as well as his prints and drawings.