Panel

Wilhelm Hunt DiederichWW-1924-091656

1924·Cotton, alternating float weave, embroidered with cotton in cross-stitches·96.4 × 118 cm (38 × 46 1/2 in.)

<p>This embroidered panel portrays two cocks fighting, similar to the dynamic animal combat scene depicted in <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/151370">this fire screen</a> in the Art Institute of Chicago's collection, also designed by William Hunt Diederich. The prominent and repeated diagonal lines throughout the composition heighten the sense of drama, particularly as the rooster on the left, with mouth agape, leans back to brace for the oncoming attack. The X shapes formed by the cross-stitch embroidery technique complement the sharply angular representation of the animals.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1924
Medium: Cotton, alternating float weave, embroidered with cotton in cross-stitches
Dimensions: 96.4 × 118 cm (38 × 46 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Wilhelm Hunt Diederich

Artist

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich

Sculpture

Wilhelm Hunt Diederich was an American sculptor whose wrought iron and bronze works combined Art Deco geometry with animal and figurative forms rendered in bold, linear silhouettes. Working primarily in the early twentieth century, his sculptures transformed decorative metalwork into a vehicle for modernist formal invention. His work appeared in major institutional surveys at MoMA during the 1930s, establishing him as a significant figure in American modernism between the wars.

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