Dawn 1921

This sensitive carving of a head of a sleeping infant creates an illusion of softness without attempting to deny the hardness of the marble. The roughly-textured base serves to remind us that we are encountering a material object, while at the same the head conveys an uncanny sense of human presence. The emergence of the head from its base serves to enshrine the baby, suggesting new life while also hinting at death. Dick also produced a smaller version of this subject in bronze. Gallery label, September 2004