SAN ANTONIO, TX.- Woman and Sheep (2009), a bronze sculpture by New York-based Kiki Smith, recently joined works by Tony Cragg, Philip Grausman, Alexander Liberman, George Rickey, and Joel Shapiro, as part of the McNay's collection of outdoor sculpture formed with the support of the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts. Sited along the Jane Cheever Powell Sculpture Promenade in front of the Stieren Center for Exhibitions, Woman and Sheep is an important addition to the museum's growing collection of works by modern and contemporary artists. "This acquisition enriches our outdoor sculpture collection and provides a poetic counterpoint to nearby works by Joel Shapiro and Tony Cragg." Said McNay director, Bill Chiego. The sculpture also provides an excellent second example of Smith's unique approach to figuration, joining the intimate porcelain Woman with Arm Raised (2005), already in the McNay's collection.

Born in Nuremberg, Germany, and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, Kiki Smith is the daughter of opera singer Jane Lawrence and Minimalist sculptor Tony Smith, whose monumental Asteriskos (1968) has enhanced the McNay's grounds since 1970. Kiki Smith's widely known figurative subjects explore her interest in narrative, mythology, belief, folklore, and religion, as well as roles of women and their relationships to nature. Women and Sheep exemplifies use of the body as a means of expression, an approach related to distortion of the figure in modern sculpture, beginning in the 19th century with Auguste Rodin.

Woman and Sheep is the sixth outdoor sculpture to enter the McNay's collection through the generosity of the Russell Hill Rogers Fund for the Arts.

Kiki Smith is represented by The Pace Gallery in New York City.