Standing Figure

Chicago sculptor Marion Perkins began making art in the late 1930s. Known for commanding heads and busts carved from wood, stone, and marble that he salvaged from architectural ruins around the city, the full-length body of Standing Figure was unusual for him. Here, a woman presses her arms tightly to herself, her head thrown back. Her sinuous position recalls Classical Greek and Roman sculptures, while her exaggerated features and restrained form are emblematic of Perkins’s individual style.