Elephant Sculpture

1972
Not on view
In the form of an elephant, this is a plastic container, with a removable cover, intended to hold marketing materials for flooring. The surfaces of the container and cover appear to be built up from a flat base with odd shaped rectilinear pieces in the manner of a Louise Nevelson sculpture, but they are actually cast from a mold.

Eduardo Paolozzi was influenced by Cubism and Surrealism, and his work in the late 1940s and early 1950s is considered to be a precursor to the Pop Art movement. Nairn Floors Ltd. wanted to attract architects to their products, so Paolozzi was hired to design a sculptural container for their marketing materials. 3000 numbered elephants were produced.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Elephant Sculpture
  • Artist: Eduardo Paolozzi (British, 1924–2005)
  • Date: 1972
  • Medium: Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), polystyrene (PS) and paper
  • Edition: 1126/3000
  • Dimensions: 13 × 5 7/8 × 11 1/2 in. (33 × 14.9 × 29.2 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture
  • Credit Line: Gift of Jacqueline Loewe Fowler, 2020
  • Object Number: 2021.54.37a, b
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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