Copyright This work is still under copyright. David Hare died in 1992; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it remains in force until 2062. The image is shown here for classroom reference; rights remain with the rights holder.
In context
Cloud and Rain — David Hare
Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 75 at death.
Painted when the artist was 33. The artist lived to 75. 0 of the 2 dated works by this artist in our catalogue came earlier.
Shaded: the lifetime of David Hare (1917–1992) ▲ this work, 1950 every dated painting, decade by decade
Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.
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Measured from the image
Main colour
Gray #6d6c64
Catalogued palette
These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour
The ten leading countries
Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.
Together these works take 100.0% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 2 works by this artist, of which 2 were looked at at least once. This painting ranks 2 of them, with 50.0% of that attention (100 visits). The same counts, month by month
Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.
Artist and museum
Born in New York City, United States
To look at the work of David Hare is to confront a deliberate fragmentation of reality. He was an American sculptor who did not merely represent dreams but reconstructed them through heavy, tangible materials. While his contemporaries often drifted into pure abstraction, Hare anchored his explorations in the weight of steel and bronze. His practice was defined by a refusal to let the image remain purely symbolic; instead, he forced it into a physical, biomorphic presence that demands attention through its very mass.
His development was shaped by an unusual proximity to the exiled French Surrealists during World War II. This connection provided him with a technical vocabulary of subversion. He utilized heatage, or brulage, in his photography—a process of melting photographic negatives to distort the subject. In works like his Untitled piece from the VVV portfolio, the technique strips away anatomical certainty, leaving only the contour of a female body amidst black and white masses that suggest burnt flesh. This was not an aesthetic choice made for decoration; it was a method to negate the photographic ability to reproduce an objective truth.
Hare’s transition toward metalwork allowed him to bridge the gap between Surrealist philosophy and the emerging energy of Abstract Expressionism. He moved away from the ephemeral nature of paper and film toward the permanence of bronze and steel. His sculptures often feature organic, biomorphic shapes that feel as though they possess an independent life. These forms do not rely on recognizable figures but instead use abstract compositions to trigger instinctive emotional responses.
The structural logic of his work can be seen in specific series and pieces:
Sunrise: A series from the 1950s utilizing steel rods, rock, and gilt bronze solder to create a sun-like form.
Magician's Game: A 1946 bronze cast that incorporates an egg-shaped object and comb-shaped elements.
The Swan's Dream of Leda: A sculpture composed of irregular bronze sheets mounted on a stone base, drawing from Greek mythology.
Hare’s significance lies in his ability to use the tools of chance and intuition—such as automatic drawing and collage—to challenge the stability of the visual field. He did not seek to create a window into another world, but rather to break apart the existing one and reassemble it into something more complex. His work remains relevant because it avoids the trap of easy recognition. By manipulating negatives and melting surfaces, he mirrored the instability of a world undergoing profound political and physical transformation.
He remained a figure who straddled two distinct movements without being swallowed by either. His commitment to exploring human desire, death, and love through the lens of Surrealist technique persisted even when such themes lost their mainstream momentum. He proved that art could be both deeply psychological and physically undeniable.
Every fact we hold on Cloud and Rain by David Hare, on its artwork page
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For art students and researchers
Cloud and Rain — David Hare
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Write a short paragraph about this artwork. Use the facts from the earlier parts of this guide, and your answers above.
The author of "Cloud and Rain" is David Hare, and the work is dated 1950.
"Cloud and Rain" is defined by a neutrals palette led by gray (#6d6c64).
"Cloud and Rain" was created by David Hare. The information on this page describes David Hare's original work.
"Cloud and Rain" by David Hare was created in 1950.
Works similar to "Cloud and Rain" are listed on the artwork's Similars page.