George Segal

Born New York City 1924
Died New Brunswick, New Jersey 2000
Abraham's Farewell to Ishmael, 1987
Painted plaster
102 x 78 x 78 Inches
Collection Miami Art Museum, gift of The George and Helen Segal Foundation, Inc.

In the 1960s, George Segal developed his signature technique of creating figural sculptures by molding plastered gauze strips over live models. Initially, he was referred to as a Pop artist, because his silent white plaster figures were set within environments composed of objects from American consumer culture. But as time went on, it became increasingly apparent that it was the human condition that was central to Segal's concerns more than any interest in consumer culture.

On a number of occasions, Segal turned to the Old Testament as a source for his imagery. This bold recasting of a Biblical tale in a contemporary light tells the story of the dilemma faced by the patriarch Abraham. Abraham's wife, Sarah, sought to secure her son Isaac's right of inheritance by demanding that her husband expel his mistress Hagar and Ishmael, the son he had by her, from their home. Abraham, upon receiving divine promise of Hagar and Ishmael's safety, reluctantly banishes them to the desert. In the sculpture, the father's tenderness, Sarah's rage, and Hagar's resigned acceptance portray a range of human emotions.

The sculpture, which was donated to MAM after the artist's death, had been included in a retrospective of the artist's work presented at the museum in 1998.