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From the Elgin marbles to Carl Andre's bricks: the mistakes that have made great art

Some of the most important creative steps forward begin simply as misunderstandings

2 August 2014

9:00 AM

2 August 2014

9:00 AM

One day in 1959, the Minimalist sculptor Carl Andre was putting the finishing touches to an abstract sculpture in wood. The work, entitled ‘Last Ladder’, was carved on only one side. When he had finished, Andre’s friend the painter Frank Stella walked in, ran his hand down the smooth reverse side and remarked, ‘You know, Carl, that’s sculpture too.

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Martin Gayford is the author of Michaelangelo: His Epic Life and a critic for Bloomberg News.

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