Claes OldenburgAmerican, 1929–2022Arched Soft Screw as Building
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Arched Soft Screw as Building” now? Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Chicago, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Details
- Accession number
- 2011.702
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
In the life of Claes Oldenburg
The whole life1969–1977
His relationship with Hannah Wilke
From 1969 to 1977 Oldenburg was in a relationship with the feminist artist and sculptor Hannah Wilke: they shared studios and travelled together, and she often photographed him. His marriage to Patty Mucha ended in 1970.
early 1970s
Turning to public commissions: “Three-Way Plug”
From the early 1970s Oldenburg concentrated almost exclusively on public commissions; his first public work, “Three-Way Plug”, was commissioned by Oberlin College with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
1972–1993
His brother Richard heads MoMA
From 1972 to 1993 the artist's brother, the art historian Richard E. Oldenburg, was director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and later chairman of Sotheby's America.
1976
The partnership with Coosje van Bruggen begins
From 1976 Oldenburg worked with the Dutch-American writer and art historian Coosje van Bruggen — 30 years and over 40 “large-scale projects”. Their first collaboration was reworking “Trowel I” (1971) for the grounds of the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo.
1977
Married: Coosje van Bruggen
