Big Sweep

Big Sweep

2006
Artist
Claes Oldenburg, American, Swedish, 1929-2022
Born: Stockholm, Sweden
Work Locations: New York, NY
Coosje van Bruggen, Dutch, American, 1941-2009
Born: Groningen, Netherlands
Work Locations: New York, NY
Manufacturer
Carlson & Co.
Country
United States
Object
sculpture
Medium
Aluminum, stainless steel, and polyurethane resin painted with acrylic polyurethane
Accession Number
1998.496A-H
Credit Line
Purchased in honor of Tom and Noël Congdon with funds from 1998 Collectors’ Choice, with support from the estate of Richard H. Bosworth, Cyprus Amax Minerals Company, Charles and Diane Gallagher, Jerry Gart Family Foundation, Frederic C. and Jane Hamilton, Hines, Jan and Frederick R. Mayer, Paul and Lilly Merage, Larry and Carol Mizel, Ken and Judy Robins, Titanium Metals Corporation, Carl and Lisa Williams, Ginny Williams, and an anonymous donor. Additional funding was provided by Mark and Polly Addison, Joan Anderman, Bruce and Marcy Benson, Nancy Lake Benson, Jim and Janice Campbell, Howard and Beulah Cherne, Steven and Robin Chotin, Tom and Noël Congdon, Peter and Philae Dominick, Suzanne Farver, Leonard and Kay Gemmill, Dorothy Strear Goodstein, Robert and Diane Greenlee, Heidi Hamilton, Mark and Diana Hayden, Harley and Lorraine Higbie, A. Barry and Arlene Hirschfeld, Grafton and Sue Jhung, Glenn Jones and Diane Eddolls, Mariner and Megan Kemper, Bill and Alma Kurtz, Ed and Margaret Anne Leede, Susan and John W. Madden III, Caroline Morgan, Trygve and Vicki Myhren, NBT Foundation, Denny and Judy O’Brien, Andrea Singer Pollack, and an anonymous donor.

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Big Sweep, 2006. Stainless steel, aluminum, fiber-reinforced plastic; painted with polyurethane enamel. Denver Art Museum:  Purchased in honor of Tom and Noël Congdon with funds from 1998 Collectors’ Choice, with support from the estate of Richard H. Bosworth, Cyprus Amax Minerals Company, Charles and Diane Gallagher, Jerry Gart Family Foundation, Frederic C. and Jane Hamilton, Hines, Jan and Frederick R. Mayer, Paul and Lilly Merage, Larry and Carol Mizel, Ken and Judy Robins, Titanium Metals Corporation, Carl and Lisa Williams, Ginny Williams, and an anonymous donor. Additional funding was provided by Mark and Polly Addison, Joan Anderman, Bruce and Marcy Benson, Nancy Lake Benson, Jim and Janice Campbell, Howard and Beulah Cherne, Steven and Robin Chotin, Tom and Noël Congdon, Peter and Philae Dominick, Suzanne Farver, Leonard and Kay Gemmill, Dorothy Strear Goodstein, Robert and Diane Greenlee, Heidi Hamilton, Mark and Diana Hayden, Harley and Lorraine Higbie, A. Barry and Arlene Hirschfeld, Grafton and Sue Jhung, Glenn Jones and Diane Eddolls, Mariner and Megan Kemper, Bill and Alma Kurtz, Ed and Margaret Anne Leede, Susan and John W. Madden III, Caroline Morgan, Trygve and Vicki Myhren, NBT Foundation, Denny and Judy O’Brien, Andrea Singer Pollack, and an anonymous donor. © 2006 Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen.

Dimensions
weight: 32,400 oz, -1000.0000 g; height: 376 in, 955.0400 cm; length: 304 in, 772.1600 cm; width: 181 in, 459.7400 cm
Department
Modern and Contemporary Art
Collection
Modern and Contemporary Art
This object is currently on view

Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen are a husband-and-wife team whose monumental sculptures celebrate the significance and beauty of everyday things—often making subjects larger than life. This 40-foot-tall sculpture was inspired by the vast prairies and mountains of Colorado, the bright light and scouring winds. The artists devised a graceful broom and dustpan that seem to dance in the dazzling Western sun. The sculpture is located along 13th Ave at the North end of the Frederic C. Hamilton Building.