Crafted in 1930, Isamu Noguchi’s Glad Day embodies a vibrant celebration of the boundless potential of humanity and the unrestricted realm of creative expression. Here, the figure is depicted as fully outstretched, with joints unbent and extended to the maximum of the human form. This imagery may relate to Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man but most certainly draws inspiration from the universal theories of Buckminster Fuller, who owned another cast of this work. Fuller spoke of the interconnectedness of nature and the entire universe, epitomized by the figure’s outstretched limbs which suggest expansiveness, and the role of humans within it.

Born in the United States, Noguchi spent his early years in Japan, where the tapestry of Japanese art and culture profoundly shaped him. His subsequent visit to Japan led him to explore its sculptural traditions and ceramics. This influence is present in Glad Day through the synthesis of new materials and the abstracted melding of both nature and science. With these new innovations, Glad Day represents an important, emergent moment in the artist’s career.

Upon his return to the United States in 1932, he sculpted Miss Expanding Universe, a work that shares thematic and compositional elements with Glad Day, as Noguchi seamlessly merged the sleek lines of the machine age with the intrinsic features of ancient Japanese funerary sculptures, known as haniwa. Noguchi’s polished nickel-bronze sculpture Death, executed in 1934, also bears similarity to Glad Day in its form, drawing parallels with its artistic representation. Inspired by the 1930 lynching of George Hughes in Texas, Death portrays a nearly life size representation of a lynched man, suspended by a rope from a metal mount. While in Death, the figure’s body pained and contorted, Glad Day depicts a figure with limbs outstretched, as if it is breaking free or in defiance. The sculpture is a testament to Noguchi’s early exploration of the human form in its many dynamic states of being.

The present edition of Glad Day found its home with Miriam Hopkins, a notable figure within the New York Avant Garde circle, who acquired it directly from the artist circa 1934. Ellen Miriam Hopkins (1902-1972) was a versatile and renowned American actress particularly active in the 1930s. Debuting in “Fast and Loose,” she soared in films like “The Smiling Lieutenant” and “Design for Living,” establishing herself as a cinematic icon. With diverse roles, an Oscar nod for “Becky Sharp,” and collaborations with Joel McCrea, she left a lasting mark. While she is primarily remembered for her acting career, Hopkins was an important patron of the arts. Her involvement in the arts date back to her early years as a struggling actress in New York. Hopkins posed for artist Harry Stoner and soon became his favored muse. Additionally, she served as a model for artists John Carroll and her close friend Jean Negulesco. When Hopkins crossed paths with Isamu Noguchi, she acquired a selection of his works and also commissioned a gold-played bronze sculpture of herself. Later encouraged by Hopkins, Noguchi travelled to Hollywood to create artworks of her circle of friends.