Washington, D.C. -- The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) has acquired Four Seated Figures (2002) by internationally renowned Polish sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz. It is on view in the museum's third-floor sculpture gallery. Four Seated Figures was acquired by the museum through a contribution by Patti Cadby Birch, a member of the museum's National Advisory Board, and the Members' Art Acquisition Fund.

Abakanowicz created her first Seated Figures between 1974 and 1979. These headless and armless forms are among her best known and most powerful works. The four new figures NMWA has acquired were made specifically for the museum by the artist using original plaster casts from her archive in Poland. To mold the works, Abakanowicz first pressed burlap sackcloth dipped in glue into the waxed casts. She then strengthened the figure by coating the molded burlap with synthetic resin, and covered it again with a second layer of sacking dipped in glue. Each hollowed-out sculpture has its own bone structure, and pieces of burlap cording suggest the human nervous system. Abakanowicz says that the figures are sexless, adding, "They represent the human race rather than men or women of any specific nationality, color, or creed. They are naked, exposed, and vulnerable, just as we are."

Abakanowicz was born in Falenty, Poland, in 1930, and lives in Warsaw. As witness and survivor to the brutal regimes of Nazism and Stalinism, she chose to continue living and working in her native country despite harsh conditions. Her psychologically charged works in fiber, burlap, and bronze have transformed perceptions of woven objects. Her first sculptures, called Abakans (1966-75), are large, three-dimensional woven forms suspended from the ceiling to swing freely in space. One of them created a sensation at the First International Biennial of Tapestry in Switzerland. Three years later, she won a gold medal for a similar fiber sculpture at the Sao Paulo Bienal in Brazil. From then on, Abakanowicz developed diverse series employing different materials, including Seated Figures (1974-79), Backs (1976-82), Sagacious Heads (1988-90), and Hand-Like Trees (1992-93).

Abakanowicz has had over 150 solo exhibitions, and is represented in major museums and numerous international collections. She has permanent public installations in Italy, Israel, Japan, and France, among other countries. Her work Figures (1986-87) was featured in the 1991-92 NMWA exhibition Voices of Freedom: Polish Women Artists and the Avant-Garde, 1880-1990.

According to NMWA Director Judy L. Larson, "The museum is truly fortunate to be able to add a work by such an outstanding artist to its collection. Abakanowicz's work challenges us to consider the human condition in all its poignancy. This acquisition is especially significant as we approach the end of our 15th year, and look forward to continued leadership in honoring art by women."

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