Tom Otterness

(American, born 1952)

Tom Otterness is a contemporary American artist. He is best known for his public sculptures, including his Playground on 630 West 42nd St. in New York. Another famous piece Life Underground (2004), inside the 14th Street-Eighth Avenue Station in New York, depicts small bronze figures engaged in various tasks. His cartoonish bronze figures have political undertones, often alluding to issues of money, sex, and class. “It’s a simple language; it’s a cartoon language; it’s smiley, button faces,” the artist said. “People aren’t thrown off by a language they don’t understand.” Born in Wichita, KS in 1952, he received his formal training at the Art Students League of New York and later at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program. In 2004, after years of being forgotten, the artist’s Shot Dog Film (1977), which depicts Otterness adopting a dog from a shelter, tying it to a tree, and shooting it dead, was brought back into the public consciousness by the writer and artist Gary Indiana. He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

Tom Otterness News

Events and Parties

The Week in Art: Storm King Hosts Gala, Museum of Fine Arts Boston Parties All Night With 'The Clock'

by Sarah Cascone
The Week in Art: Storm King Hosts Gala, Museum of Fine Arts Boston Parties All Night With 'The Clock'
People

What We Learned About Famous Artists from Joe Fig’s New Studio Visits Book

by Brian Boucher
What We Learned About Famous Artists from Joe Fig’s New Studio Visits Book
Art & Exhibitions

Mister Artsee Truck Delivers Supplies to Art-Starved Kids

by Rozalia Jovanovic
Mister Artsee Truck Delivers Supplies to Art-Starved Kids

Tom Otterness Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Tom Otterness (320 results)
Free Speech, 2015

Tom Otterness

Free Speech, 2015

Sale Date: December 14, 2022

Auction Closed

Enlightened Worker, 1983

Tom Otterness

Enlightened Worker, 1983

Sale Date: November 16, 2022

Auction Closed

Guardian Angels, 2022

Tom Otterness

Guardian Angels, 2022

Sale Date: October 21, 2022

Auction Closed

Kissing Angels, 2022

Tom Otterness

Kissing Angels, 2022

Sale Date: October 6, 2022

Auction Closed

Commemorative Plaque, 1980

Tom Otterness

Commemorative Plaque, 1980

Sale Date: September 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Horse and Rider Maquette, 2004

Tom Otterness

Horse and Rider Maquette, 2004

Sale Date: June 15, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Head), 1989

Tom Otterness

Untitled (Head), 1989

Sale Date: June 15, 2022

Auction Closed

Three prints., 1993

Tom Otterness

Three prints., 1993

Sale Date: May 12, 2022

Auction Closed

Horse and Rider Maquette, 2004

Tom Otterness

Horse and Rider Maquette, 2004

Sale Date: April 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 2016

Tom Otterness

Untitled, 2016

Sale Date: March 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Suspended Figure,

Tom Otterness

Suspended Figure," 1995, 1995

Sale Date: March 22, 2022

Auction Closed

(i) Vertical Figures, 1981, 1981

Tom Otterness

(i) Vertical Figures, 1981, 1981

Sale Date: March 9, 2022

Auction Closed

Earrings, 1995

Tom Otterness

Earrings, 1995

Sale Date: March 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Big Penny, 1990

Tom Otterness

Big Penny, 1990

Sale Date: March 2, 2022

Auction Closed

Earrings, 1995

Tom Otterness

Earrings, 1995

Sale Date: February 9, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled (Pencil and Heart Lifters), c. 2000, 2000

Tom Otterness

Untitled (Pencil and Heart Lifters), c. 2000, 2000

Sale Date: February 17, 2022

Auction Closed

Pair of Tom Otterness

Tom Otterness

Pair of Tom Otterness "Educated King" Bookends, 1984

Sale Date: January 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Pair of Tom Otterness Sterling Silver..., 1994

Tom Otterness

Pair of Tom Otterness Sterling Silver..., 1994

Sale Date: January 29, 2022

Auction Closed

Three Cast Plaster Multiples, 1982

Tom Otterness

Three Cast Plaster Multiples, 1982

Sale Date: December 10, 2021

Auction Closed

Horse and Rider maquette, 2004

Tom Otterness

Horse and Rider maquette, 2004

Sale Date: December 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Educating the Rich, 1995

Tom Otterness

Educating the Rich, 1995

Sale Date: December 10, 2021

Auction Closed

Visionary, 1996

Tom Otterness

Visionary, 1996

Sale Date: November 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Kindly Gepetto, 2001

Tom Otterness

Kindly Gepetto, 2001

Sale Date: November 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Bear, 1998

Tom Otterness

Bear, 1998

Sale Date: November 17, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.