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Ringgold, Ben
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Key Points
- Amid rapid social changes, Vietnam War protests, debates on gender roles, and civil rights, the stability of middle class American life during the 1950s gave way to a period of disillusionment and uncertainty by the 1970s.
- In this highly realistic sculpture, Duane Hanson creates an archetypical businessman, physically rooted in the dress and style of the early 1970s, and uses his posture and body to conjure the mental and emotional turmoil of the period. It is both a highly specific and universal image of midlife burdens and exhaustion.
Go deeper
This sculpture at the Toledo Museum of Art
Learn more about The Organization Man and its author, William Whyte
Read about the social turmoil of the 1960s
Explore more of Duane Hanson’s work
Learn about the rise of suburbs and the “Organization Man” through primary source documents
Read about youth culture and the antiwar movement in the 1960s
More to think about
Duane Hanson’s Executive was originally commissioned for the lobby of an office building. How do you think seeing the work in that space would be different than seeing it today in a museum?
Smarthistory images for teaching and learning:
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