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Isamu Noguchi
Nuska, Portrait of a Girl, unique bronze portrait by Isamu Noguchi 1924

1924

Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
Price Upon Request
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About the Item

Nuska, Portrait of a Girl, bronze portrait, 1924, unique Isamu Noguchi (Japanese American 1904 - 1988); "Nuska, The Deaf Girl"; cire perdu cast bronze with complex dark patina on bronze base; 15 x lOx 8 inches; base 4.5 x 5.75 x 5,75 inches; signature quilled under and at back - "Isamu"; foundry stamp quilled in wax at the back - "Roman Bronze Works N.Y." Excellent condition. "Nuska, The Deaf Girl" is included in the Catalogue Raisonne of Noguchi's sculpture by Nancy Grove and Dianne Botnick (Garland, 1980) as Number 21. It is currently listed in the digital catalogue being assembled by the Isamu Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York as Number 10. This is apparently a unique casting, not part of an edition. This is an apparently early, cire perdu bronze cast by Roman Bronze Works, probably when the foundry was located in the Louis Comfort Tiffany red brick factory in Corona, Queens, New York where it moved in 1927. Known for casting the works of Daniel Chester French, Henry Augustus Lukeman, Augustus Saint- Gaudens, Frederic Remington and Charles Russell as well as the Heisman Trophy, Roman Bronze Works has always been considered the finest American foundry for the quality of its casting, chasing and patination. Certainly, the patina on the subject Noguchi sculpture is of exceptional uniformity and dep and the surfaces are without flaw. Valerie Fletcher, curator of the Hirshhorn-Whitney show for Isamu Noguchi, says: ”He created so many pieces in so many media, it was almost impossible to take in. I think it took a while for people to get a handle on the sheer scope of his art and focus on what went beyond trends." A major portion of Isamu Noguchi’s work was portrait busts in several materials. This was largely responsible for his early fame. Between 1924 and 1950 he executed well over one hundred portraits. Among his subjects were Clare Boothe Luce, Thornton Wilder, Ginger Rogers, Martha Graham, R. Buckminster Fuller, Fernand Leger and dozens of other people. The earliest busts from 1924 and 1927 were done in the artist's studio in Manhattan. From 1927 to 1929 Noguchi lived in Paris, serving as a studio assistant to Constantin Brancusi. He exhibited his first abstract sculptures done in Paris in New York’s Eugene Schoen Gallery in 1929.
  • Creator:
    Isamu Noguchi (1904 - 1988, Japanese, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1924
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)Depth: 8 in (20.32 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Santa Fe, NM
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU19122419933

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With encouragement from the Greens, Houser at the age of 61, retired from his post as the head of the sculpture department at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1975 to begin working full-time creating his art. The next 20-year period was an exciting time for Allan, the gallery, and for the Green family. He created a large body of sculpture in stone, wood and bronze. For many years Glenn Green Galleries co-sponsored many editions of his bronzes and acted as quality control for the bronze sculptures according to Houser’s wishes. As both agents and gallery representatives, the Greens promoted and sold his art in their galleries in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona and in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They had bi-annual exhibits in their galleries to feature Houser’s newest work and sponsored and arranged international museum shows in America, Europe and Asia. They travelled for these events including a trip to Carrara, Italy to the famed quarries of Michelangelo and together co-financed and arranged the purchase of 20 tons of marble. A watershed event for Allan Houser’s career occurred in the early 1980’s when Glenn Green Galleries arranged with the US Information Agency a touring exhibit of his sculpture through Europe. This series of exhibits drew record attendance for these museums and exposed Houser’s work to an enthusiastic art audience. This resulted in changing the perception of contemporary Native art in the United States where Houser and Glenn Green Galleries initially faced resistance from institutions who wanted to categorize him in a regional way. The credits from the European exhibits helped open doors and minds of the mainstream art community in the United States and beyond. Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii was a supporter of Allan Houser’s artwork. 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