David Smith (1906-1965) is best known for pioneering a form of welded metal sculpture that fused the formal influences of Surrealism and Cubism with the scale and gestural energies of Abstract Expressionism. Yet Smith began his career as a painter, and he produced hundreds of drawings, paintings, and collages throughout his lifetime, a practice that profoundly impacted his approach to sculpture.

Untitled (Virgin Island Green Abstraction)  is one of a group of works that Smith made in 1933, inspired by a nine-month trip he and his wife Dorothy Dehner took between 1931-32 to the Virgin Islands, centered mostly around St. Thomas. While conjuring associations with nature, this striking arrangement of abstract forms also suggests a kind of surreal dreamscape, in which shapes evoke varied feelings and moods. Smith created this work during a pivotal year in his artistic development, when he produced his first welded metal sculpture.