Skip to main contentThe Met CollectionSearch ArtI Saw the Figure 5 in GoldSelect languageEnglishI Saw the Figure 5 in GoldCharles Demuth American1928On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 910Demuth completed eight symbolic portraits between 1924 and 1929 as tributes to modern American artists, writers, and performers. Though not a physical likeness, Demuth created this portrait of his friend, the poet and physician William Carlos Williams, using imagery from Williams’s poem The Great Figure, which evokes the sights and sounds of a fire engine speeding down the street. The intersecting lines, repeated "5," round forms of the numbers, lights, street lamp, and blaring sirens of the red fire engine together infuse the painting with a vibrant, urban energy. Demuth derived the title from the poem, which reads: Among the rain and lights I saw the figure 5 in gold on a red firetruck moving tense unheeded to gong clangssiren howls and wheels rumbling through the dark city This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.ShareA slider containing 2 items.Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Artwork Details
Object InformationOverviewInscriptions and MarkingsProvenanceExhibition HistoryReferences
Medium:Oil, graphite, ink, and gold leaf on paperboard (Upson board)
Dimensions:35 1/2 × 30 in. (90.2 × 76.2 cm)
Classifications:Paintings, Drawings
Credit Line:Alfred Stieglitz Collection, 1949
Object Number:49.59.1
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art
Audio
1955. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold, Part 1PlayPause0:00Skip backward 10 secondsSkip backward 10 secondsSkip forward 10 secondsSkip forward 10 seconds0:00Show TranscriptWe're sorry, the transcript for this audio track is not available at this time. Please email [email protected] to request a transcript for this track.
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1955. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold, Part 1
1956. I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold, Part 2
892. Kids: Modern and Contemporary Art, Part 1
973. Kids: Modern and Contemporary Art, Part 2
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