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Period: 1930s
Tigre à l'affût, Art Deco Bronze Sculpture by Georges Lavroff
Tigre à l'affût, Art Deco Bronze Sculpture by Georges Lavroff

Tigre à l'affût, Art Deco Bronze Sculpture by Georges Lavroff

By Georges Lavroff

Located in Long Island City, NY

Georges Lavroff, Russian (1895 - 1991) - Tigre à l'affût, Year: circa 1925, Medium: Bronze sculpture on marble base, signature inscribed at base, Size: 4.5 x 21 x 4 in. (11.43 x 5...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Diogenes, terracotta sculpture, 1939, Giorgio Rossi (1894-1981).
Diogenes, terracotta sculpture, 1939, Giorgio Rossi (1894-1981).

Diogenes, terracotta sculpture, 1939, Giorgio Rossi (1894-1981).

Located in Firenze, IT

**Diogenes.** **Terracotta sculpture, 1939, Giorgio Rossi (1894-1981): Tuscan Sculptor.** **Material:** Hand-modeled terracotta by the artist. **Unique piece.** **Dimensions...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Early 20th Century Ceramic Bust of a Woman, Cleveland School Artist
Early 20th Century Ceramic Bust of a Woman, Cleveland School Artist

Early 20th Century Ceramic Bust of a Woman, Cleveland School Artist

Located in Beachwood, OH

Edris Eckhardt (American, 1905-1998) Bust, 1933 Ceramic Signed and dated base 8.5 x 4.5 x 4.5 inches, including base Minor losses to paint on base. Born in Cleveland, Ohio January ...

Category

1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Two panthers
Two panthers

Two panthers

Located in PARIS, FR

Two panthers by Maximilien FIOT (1886-1953) An important bronze group with a nuanced greenish dark brown patina signed on the base " M. Fiot " cast by " Susse Fres Edts Paris " (wi...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Antique Renaissance Man Carved  and Polychromed Plaque
Antique Renaissance Man Carved  and Polychromed Plaque

Antique Renaissance Man Carved and Polychromed Plaque

Located in Douglas Manor, NY

A Renaissance man,circa 1930's polychrome painting on a wood plaque . Artist unknown

Category

1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Oil

Tantric Couple Sculpture, Resin and Paint, French School, Circa 1930s
Tantric Couple Sculpture, Resin and Paint, French School, Circa 1930s

Tantric Couple Sculpture, Resin and Paint, French School, Circa 1930s

By Niki de Saint Phalle

Located in PARIS, FR

Rare and beautiful sculpture by Niki de Saint Phalle, certificate by Niki de Saint Phalle Foundation. Some small lacks of gilding on the wings of the bird. Signed and numbered at the...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Resin, Paint

Bust of Josephine Baker, Mid-Century Ceramic Female Face
Bust of Josephine Baker, Mid-Century Ceramic Female Face

Bust of Josephine Baker, Mid-Century Ceramic Female Face

By Vally Wieselthier

Located in Beachwood, OH

Attributed to Vally Wieselthier (Austrian-American, 1895-1945) Bust of Josephine Baker, c. 1930 Ceramic Stamped on base 11.5 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches Vally Wieselthier (1895 Vienna--1945 ...

Category

1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Girl with a Kid / - Caresses of innocence -
Girl with a Kid / - Caresses of innocence -

Girl with a Kid / - Caresses of innocence -

By Ary Bitter

Located in Berlin, DE

Ary Bitter (1883 Marseille - 1973 Paris), Girl with Kid, around 1930. Green patinated bronze with cast plinth loosely mounted on a white-veined dark green marble base. Dimensions of the plinth: 5 cm (height) x 80 cm (length) x 24 (width), dimensions of the bronze 28 cm (height) x 72 cm (length) x 18 cm (width). Weight of the bronze 18.2 kg, total weight 39.2 kg. Signed “Ary Bitter.” on the plinth and stamped “L N Paris J L” by the foundry Les Neveux de Jacques Lehmann...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Pyrenean bear sitting
Pyrenean bear sitting

Pyrenean bear sitting

By Georges Lucien Guyot

Located in PARIS, FR

Pyrenean bear sitting by Georges GUYOT (1885-1972) Sculpture in bronze with a nuanced black patina Signed " Guyot " on the base Cast by Martin Canal, without founder mark France circa 1935 Height 18,4 cm Width 17 cm Depth 18 cm Biography : Georges Lucien Guyot (1885-1973) known as Georges Guyot was a French animal artist. From an early age, he showed artistic abilities, but the modest conditions of his parents did not allow him to study art. He was doing his apprenticeship with a woodcarver. Guyot then excelled at copying works of the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, but soon he showed a special attraction for nature. This attraction led him to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris where he could study wild animals and translated his observations into sculpture and painting. As a famous figure of Montmartre, he was the host of the Bateau-Lavoir from the time of Cubism. In 1931, Georges Guyot joined the group of "The Twelve", created by François Pompon and Jane Poupelet, gathering sculptors like Marcel Lémar, Paul Jouve, André Margat, Jean-Claude de Saint-Marceaux, Georges Hilbert, or even the painter Adrienne Jouclard...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Barge Toiler -Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Labor Plaster Depression-Era Sculpture
Barge Toiler -Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Labor Plaster Depression-Era Sculpture

Barge Toiler -Mid 20th Century Modern WPA Labor Plaster Depression-Era Sculpture

By Max Kalish

Located in New York, NY

"Barge Toiler" by Max Kalish is a Mid 20th Century modern Depression-Era sculpture from his Labor series. The WPA era work is made of plaster. Max Kalish (1891 – 1945) Barge Toiler 12 x 8”x 4 inches Patinated plaster Signed and monogramed BIO Born in Poland March 1, 1891, figurative sculptor Max Kalish came to the United States in 1894, his family settling in Ohio. A talented youth, Kalish enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Art as a fifteen-year-old, receiving a first-place award for modeling the figure during studies with Herman Matzen. Kalish went to New York City following graduation, studying with Isidore Konti and Herbert Adams...

Category

American Modern 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Plaster

The Rudder, Terracotta, 1930s
The Rudder, Terracotta, 1930s

The Rudder, Terracotta, 1930s

By Ugo Cipriani

Located in Saint Amans des cots, FR

French Art Deco terracotta sculpture by Ugo Cipriani (1887-1960), France, 1930s. A man operating a rudder. Measurements : Width : 31"(79cm), Height : 16.7"(42.5cm), Depth : 8.7"(22cm...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Gladiator ready for battle / - Ready for anything -
Gladiator ready for battle / - Ready for anything -

Gladiator ready for battle / - Ready for anything -

By Bruno Zach

Located in Berlin, DE

Bruno Zach (1891 Zhitomir - 1945 Vienna), Gladiator ready for battle, c. 1930. Blackish patinated bronze with silver-plated helmet, shield rim and shield pommel mounted on a fluted m...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Art Deco Panther Sculpture by D.H. Chiparus
Art Deco Panther Sculpture by D.H. Chiparus

Art Deco Panther Sculpture by D.H. Chiparus

Located in Houston, TX

"PANTHER" Sculpture covered in a cold patina. c.1930 Rests on marble base. Inscribed in script: D. H. Chiparus. Cold patina was very popular in the Art Deco period. The metal: bronze, spelter, etc. would be covered with chemicals to create the brownish tone. Usually ammonium chlorite and cupric chloride was used to achieve the desirable tone. Since the finish was quite fragile and could wear off...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Early 20th Century Ceramic Sculpture of a Polo Player and Horse
Early 20th Century Ceramic Sculpture of a Polo Player and Horse

Early 20th Century Ceramic Sculpture of a Polo Player and Horse

By Waylande Gregory

Located in Beachwood, OH

Waylande Gregory (American, 1905-1971) Polo Player, c. 1930s Ceramic Inscribed signature on bottom 11 x 8.5 inches Waylande Gregory was considered a major American sculptor during the 1930's, although he worked in ceramics, rather than in the more traditional bronze or marble. Exhibiting his ceramic works at such significant American venues for sculpture as the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City and at the venerable Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, he also showed his ceramic sculptures at leading New York City galleries. Gregory was the first modern ceramist to create large scale ceramic sculptures, some measuring more than 70 inches in height. Similar to the technique developed by the ancient Etruscans, he fired his monumental ceramic sculptures only once. Gregory was born in 1905 in Baxter Springs, Kansas and was something of a prodigy. Growing up on a ranch near a Cherokee reservation, Gregory first became interested in ceramics as a child during a native American burial that he had witnessed. He was also musically inclined. In fact, his mother had been a concert pianist and had given her son lessons. At eleven, he was enrolled as a student at the Kansas State Teacher's College, where he studied carpentry and crafts, including ceramics. Gregory's early development as a sculptor was shaped by the encouragement and instruction of Lorado Taft, who was considered both a major American sculptor as well as a leading American sculpture instructor. In fact, Taft's earlier students included such significant sculptors as Bessie Potter Vonnoh and Janet Scudder. But, Taft and his students had primarily worked in bronze or stone, not in clay; and, Gregory's earliest sculptural works were also not in ceramics. In 1924, Gregory moved to Chicago where he caught the attention of Taft. Gregory was invited by Taft to study with him privately for 18 months and to live and work with him at his famed "Midway Studios." The elegant studio was a complex of 13 rooms that overlooked a courtyard. Taft may have been responsible for getting the young man interested in creating large scale sculpture. However, by the 1920's, Taft's brand of academic sculpture was no longer considered progressive. Instead, Gregory was attracted to the latest trends appearing in the United States and Europe. In 1928 he visited Europe with Taft and other students. "Kid Gregory," as he was called, was soon hired by Guy Cowan, the founder of the Cowan Pottery in Cleveland, Ohio, to become the company's only full time employee. From 1928 to 1932, Gregory served as the chief designer and sculptor at the Cowan Pottery. Just as Gregory learned about the process of creating sculpture from Taft, he literally learned about ceramics from Cowan. Cowan was one of the first graduates of Alfred, the New York School of Clayworking and Ceramics. Alfred had one of the first programs in production pottery. Cowan may have known about pottery production, but he had limited sculptural skills, as he was lacking training in sculpture. The focus of the Cowan Pottery would be on limited edition, table top or mantle sculptures. Two of the most successful of these were Gregory's "Nautch Dancer," (fig. 1) and his "Burlesque Dancer," (fig. 2). He based both sculptures on the dancing of Gilda Gray, a Ziegfield Follies girl. Gilda Gray was of Polish origin and came to the United States as a child. By 1922, she would become one of the most popular stars in the Follies. After losing her assets in the stock market crash of 1929, she accepted other bookings outside of New York, including Cleveland, which was where Gregory first saw her onstage. She allowed Gregory to make sketches of her performances from the wings of the theatre. She explained to Gregory, "I'm too restless to pose." Gray became noted for her nautch dance, an East Indian folk dance. A nautch is a tight, fitted dress that would curl at the bottom and act like a hoop. This sculpture does not focus on Gray's face at all, but is more of a portrait of her nautch dance. It is very curvilinear, really made of a series of arches that connect in a most feminine way. Gregory created his "Burlesque Dancer" at about the same time as "Nautch Dancer." As with the "Nautch Dancer," he focused on the movements of the body rather than on a facial portrait of Gray. Although Gregory never revealed the identity of his model for "Burlesque Dancer," a clue to her identity is revealed in the sculpture's earlier title, "Shimmy Dance." The dancer who was credited for creating the shimmy dance was also Gilda Gray. According to dance legend, Gray introduced the shimmy when she sang the "Star Spangled Banner" and forgot some of the lyrics, so, in her embarrassment, started shaking her shoulders and hips but she did not move her legs. Such movement seems to relate to the "Burlesque Dancer" sculpture, where repeated triangular forms extend from the upper torso and hips. This rapid movement suggests the influence of Italian Futurism, as well as the planar motion of Alexander Archipenko, a sculptor whom Gregory much admired. The Cowan Pottery was a victim of the great depression, and in 1932, Gregory changed careers as a sculptor in the ceramics industry to that of an instructor at the Cranbrook Academy in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Cranbrook was perhaps the most prestigious place to study modern design in America. Its faculty included the architect Eliel Saarinen and sculptor Carl Milles. Although Gregory was only at Cranbrook for one and one half years, he created some of his finest works there, including his "Kansas Madonna" (fig. 3). But, after arriving at Cranbrook, the Gregory's had to face emerging financial pressures. Although Gregory and his wife were provided with complimentary lodgings, all other income had to stem from the sale of artworks and tuition from students that he, himself, had to solicit. Gregory had many people assisting him with production methods at the Cowan Pottery, but now worked largely by himself. And although he still used molds, especially in creating porcelain works, many of his major new sculptures would be unique and sculpted by hand, as is true of "Kansas Madonna." The scale of Gregory's works were getting notably larger at Cranbrook than at Cowan. Gregory left the surface of "Kansas Madonna" totally unglazed. Although some might object to using a religious title to depict a horse nursing its colt, it was considered one of Gregory's most successful works. In fact, it had a whole color page illustration in an article about ceramic sculpture titled, "The Art with the Inferiority Complex," Fortune Magazine, December, 1937. The article notes the sculpture was romantic and expressive and the sculpture was priced at $1,500.00; the most expensive sculpture in the article. Gregory was from Kansas, and "Kansas Madonna" should be considered a major sculptural document of Regionalism. Gregory and his wife Yolande moved to New Jersey in the summer of 1933. And the artist began construction on his new home in the Watchung Mountains of Bound Brook (Warren today) in 1938. His enormous, custom kiln was probably constructed at the start of 1938. Gregory's new sculptures were the largest ceramic sculptures in western art, in modern times. To create these works of ceramic virtuosity, the artist developed a "honeycomb" technique, in which an infrastructure of compartments was covered by a ceramic "skin." Science and atomic energy were a theme in Gregory's most significant work, the "Fountain of the Atom" (fig. 4), at the 1939 New York's World Fair. This major work included twelve monumental ceramic figures at the fairground entrance from the newly constructed railway entrance, giving the work great visibility and prominence. The framework of the fountain itself was of steel and glass bricks. It consisted of a bluish green pool which was sixty five feet in diameter. Above it were two concentric circular tiers, or terraces, as Gregory called them; the first wider than the second. On the first terrace were eight "Electrons," comprised of four male and four female terra cotta figures, each approximately 48 inches high. These relate to the valance shell of the atom. Above them on a narrower terrace, were the much larger and heavier terra cotta figures depicting the four elements, each averaging about 78 inches in height and weighing about a ton and a half. Of the four, "Water" and "Air" were male, while "Earth" and "Fire" were female. This terrace represents the nucleus of the atom. In the center of the fountain, above the "Elements," was a central shaft comprised of sixteen glass tubes from which water tumbled down from tier to tier. At the top, a colorful flame burned constantly. The glass block tiers were lit from within, the whole creating a glowing and gurgling effect. Since the fair was temporary, the figures could be removed after its closing. But the credit for the design of the structure of the fountain belongs to collaborator Nembhard Culin, who was responsible for several other structures on the fair grounds as well. Although Gregory created a figure of "Fire" for the "Fountain of the Atom," he also executed a second, slightly smaller but more defined version which he exhibited at various locations (including Cranbrook, Baltimore Museum, etc.) in 1940-1941, during the second year of the fair (fig.5). Measuring 61 inches in height, "Fire" may be a metaphor for sexual energy, as well as atomic energy. Gregory stated, "Fire is represented by an aquiline female figure being consumed in endless arabesques of flame." Portraiture was also a significant focus of Gregory's sculpture. Gregory produced many commissioned portraits of local people as well as celebrities. He created Albert Einstein's portrait from life (fig. 6, ca. 1940) after Einstein had seen Gregory's "Fountain of the Atom." He also sculpted some of the leading figures in entertainment, including 2 sculptures of Henry Fonda, who became a personal friend. Gregory also sculpted a series of idealized female heads, both in terra cotta and in porcelain. These include "Girl with Olive" (ca. 1932) and "Cretan Girl;"(ca. 1937) both are very reductive and almost abstract works that call to mind Constantine Brancusi's "Mademoiselle Pogany" (1912, Philadelphia Museum of Art). But perhaps one of his most original female heads is "Head of a Child" (fig. 7, ca. 1933), a sensitive white glazed terra cotta portrayal with elaborately crafted braded hair, was originally created as one of a pair. Gregory also produced sculptural works for the Works Progress Administration. The WPA was a work relief project that greatly helped artists during the great depression. Founded by the Federal Government in 1935, an estimated 2500 murals were produced. Among these public works were the iconic post office murals. But, among the painted murals were also sculptural relief murals including Gregory's "R.F.D.," 1938, for the Columbus, Kansas Post Office. But, Gregory's largest WPA relief...

Category

1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Pheasant
Pheasant

Pheasant

By François Pompon

Located in PARIS, FR

Pheasant by François Pompon (1855-1933) Exceptional bronze with old gilded patina Cast by Valsuani Period cast France circa 1930 height 8,2 cm length 14,2 cm width 3,6 cm A similar model is represented in "Pompon, Catalog raisonné", Editions Gallimard, RMN, 1995, page 202, n°95B. Biography: François Pompon (1855-1933) is known for his animal sculptures whose innovative style is characterized by the simplification of shapes and polished surfaces. Pompon entered as an apprentice in the workshop of his father, Alban Pompon (1823-1907) who was a "compagnon du devoir" of the carpenter-cabinetmakers. Thanks to a scholarship obtained by the parish priest, he left in 1870 for Dijon where he became an apprentice stonemason with a marble worker. He attended evening classes at the School of Fine Arts in Dijon, first in architecture and engraving with Célestin Nanteuil, then in sculpture with François Dameron (1835-1900). After a short stint in the army in 1875, Pompon arrived in Paris where he became a marble worker in a funeral business near the Montparnasse cemetery. He attended evening classes at the Petite École, the future National School of Decorative Arts. His teachers were the sculptors Aimé Millet (1819-1891) and Pierre Louis Rouillard (1820-1881), also professor of anatomy, who showed him the menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes. In 1890, François Pompon entered the studio of Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), where he worked as a practitioner at the marble depot, rue de l'Université. He quickly gained the master's confidence since he ran the workshop in 1893. His role then was to pass on the accounts, pay for the marbles and supervise the work. It is in this same workshop that he met Ernest Nivet and Camille Claudel. He worked for a long time as a practitioner for other sculptors such as Jean Dampt...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Sun God Ra / - The Light of Knowledge -
Sun God Ra / - The Light of Knowledge -

Sun God Ra / - The Light of Knowledge -

Located in Berlin, DE

Anonymous, Sun God Ra (bookend), 16 x 13.5 x 6 cm (depiction), 17.5 x 13.5 x 8 cm (with pedestal), patinated brass, c. 1935. - Nose slightly rubbed, otherwise very good condition ...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Brass

The Trapdoor
The Trapdoor

The Trapdoor

By Arturo Martini

Located in Roma, RM

Arturo Martini (Treviso 1889 - Milan 1947), La Botola (1930 / 1933) Terracotta sculpture 34 x 42 x 9 cm signed lower left; label of Galleria del Milione, Milan, on back. Provenance...

Category

Italian School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Golf (Wall Plaque)
Golf (Wall Plaque)

Golf (Wall Plaque)

By Viktor Schreckengost

Located in Fairlawn, OH

Golf (Wall Plaque) Polychromed ceramic, c. 1930-1 Signed with the artist's initials: VS recto Very rare, only a few produced prior to the closure of Cowan Pottery Format: Round ceramic plate, 11 1/4 inches Designed by the artist while working for Cowan Pottery in 1930. One of Cowan's clients, an interior designer, requested plates decorated with different outdoor activities. Others in the series included "Swimming," "Tennis," "Polo," and "The Hunt." According to Henry Adams, the number of examples created was very limited due to the closing of Cowan Pottery in 1931. Very rare Condition: Good, with the usual craquelure of the glazes used. Note: Industrial design democratizes high style, and Mr. Schreckengost was widely considered among the most democratic industrial designers. He made, quite literally, the stuff of life — things found routinely in homes, backyards and garages in this country and around the world. He designed bicycles for Sears and everyday china for American Limoges...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Panther licking
Panther licking

Panther licking

By André Vincent Becquerel

Located in PARIS, FR

Panther licking by André-Vincent BECQUEREL (1893-1981) A bronze sculpture with nuanced green patina Signed on the base " Becquerel " Old edition cast Presented on a wooden base Fra...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Apollo
Apollo

Apollo

By Henri Bouchard

Located in PARIS, FR

"Apollo" by Henri Bouchard (1875-1960) An Art Deco period masterpiece! Exceptional bronze sculpture with a golden-brown patina Signed " H. Bouchard " Unique piece This work personifies Apollo, god of the Arts. Represented here as Apollo Musagète, leader of the procession of muses and winner of the serpent Python. This subject was commissioned to adorn the entrance to the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, and whose monumental bronze is still exhibited there. To participate in the Venice Biennale in 1938, Henri Bouchard had reduced in 1937 the large Apollo of the Palais de Chaillot, which had not yet been installed. Vintage cast by Bisceglia (cast founder stamp) made during the artist's lifetime. Incised dedication below signature : " à mon cher ami E. Sandoz " This is a unique cast made for the sculptor Edouard-Marcel Sandoz (1881-1971). This cast was exhibited at the 1938 Venice Biennale. France 1937 height : 82 cm width : 45 cm depth : 30 cm weight : 31,2 kgs Stickers under the bronze cast : - Sticker mentioning that this cast has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale of 1938 under the number 354 ("Biennale Internaz. d'Arte Venezia – 1938 – XVI – 354"). - Sticker mentioning that this cast went through Italian customs ("ne – merci – dogana italiana – visitate - 9622") - Damaged Sticker mentioning the name ("A…") and the address ("25…") of the owner of the cast (maybe for the workshop "Atelier Henri Bouchard", 25 rue d’Yvettes, 75016 Paris). Provenance : - Edouard-Marcel Sandoz, Paris, according to the dedication. - Property from the Collection of Seymour Stein (entrepreneur and founder of Sire Records, famous American record label ; and avid collector of 19th and 20th century fine art...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Naked warrior with short sword / - The New Hercules -
Naked warrior with short sword / - The New Hercules -

Naked warrior with short sword / - The New Hercules -

Located in Berlin, DE

Hermann Volz (1847 Karlsruhe - 1914 ibid.), Naked warrior with short sword, c. 1935. Partially (?) patinated bronze with cast plinth mounted on a black marble base (6.8 cm high). 32....

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Boris Lovet-Lorski Limestone Art Deco Head, circa 1930
Boris Lovet-Lorski Limestone Art Deco Head, circa 1930

Boris Lovet-Lorski Limestone Art Deco Head, circa 1930

By Boris Lovet-Lorski

Located in New York, NY

White stone head in the art deco style. Born in Lithuania at the end of the nineteenth century, Boris Lovet-Lorski studied art at the Imperial Academy of Art in St. Petersburg before working briefly as an architect. He immigrated to New York in 1920 and became an American citizen five years later. His sculptures epitomize the ideals of the Art Deco decades: comprised of sleek lines and smooth surfaces, the streamlined compositions reflect the new technological forms of the machine age. Despite their modernist treatment, Lovet-Lorski’s elegant, stylized figures reference both ancient and classical sources and are characterized by a universal and serene sensibility. Concentrating on figural busts, familial groups, and standing female nudes as his subject matter, the artist rendered them in a variety of media. The materials range from the traditional bronze and marble to exotic woods and unusual stones; each is carefully selected so that its surface texture and color contribute to the emotive aura of the work. Carved out of a block of limestone, Untitled (Head) depicts a female visage nearly androgynous in its idealization. The delicate features of her face, the long, straight nose, thin pursed lips and high cheekbones, are made even more diminutive by the massive bulk of the stone that serves as their backdrop. The prominent widow’s peak of her hairline and the strong arch of her brow, two of Lovet-Lorski’s most distinctive characteristics, are elongated to accentuate the linear rhythms of the composition. The layers of her hair are delineated by stepped striations reminiscent of archaic precedents, which meld into structural columns and connect the form architecturally to the stone’s mass. Unlike the majority of Lovet-Lorski’s sculptures, in which the heads of the figures are tilted to the side or downward to convey a pensive mood, the woman in Untitled (Head) looks straight ahead. Her frontal positioning gives the composition a nearly perfect symmetry, in turn endowing the work with a still, eternal sensibility. The notched surface of the surrounding limestone stands in sharp contrast to the smoothness of her skin. In the twenties, the artist tended to finish his sculptures to a highly polished degree of refinement, but in the thirties he began to experiment with contrasts of texture and the aesthetic of the fragment. In this respect, the work is vaguely evocative of Egyptian funerary sculptures, in which the figures were carved with an eye for three-dimensionality but were left intact in a larger piece of stone to give them physical durability and permanence. Embodying classical ideals of stoicism and universal beauty, the sculpture ultimately exudes a surface allure that is difficult to resist. A similar example of this approach can be seen in the 1937 sculpture Diana, which resides in the permanent collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. Carved from a piece of black Belgian marble, the work is a stylized bust of the Greek goddess Diana...

Category

1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Limestone

Gilbert Ledward - 1930s Watercolour Design for a Decorative Sculptural Frieze
Gilbert Ledward - 1930s Watercolour Design for a Decorative Sculptural Frieze

Gilbert Ledward - 1930s Watercolour Design for a Decorative Sculptural Frieze

Located in London, GB

GILBERT LEDWARD, RA, PRBS (1888-1960) Tennis, Golf, Shooting, Ice-Skating, Dreaming – Proposed Design for Decorative Frieze in the Italian Drawing Room at Eltham Palace, commissioned by Stephen Courtauld Signed and dated July 9th 1933 Watercolour and pencil 12.5 by 49.5 cm., 5 by 19 ½ in. (frame size 36 by 67 cm., 14 ¼ by 26 ¼ in.) Exhibited: The artist’s daughter; London, The Fine Art Society, A Centenary Tribute, Feb 1988, no. 43. Gilbert Ledward was born in London. He was educated at St Mark’s College, Chelsea. In 1905 he entered the Royal College of Art to study sculpture under Edouard Lanteri and in 1910 he entered the Royal Academy Schools. In 1913 he won the Prix de Rome for sculpture, the Royal Academy’s travelling award and gold medal, which allowed him to travel in Italy until the outbreak of the Wold War I. During the war he served as a lieutenant in the Royal Garrison Artillery and was appointed as an official war artist in 1918. Following the war he was largely occupied as a sculptor of war memorials including the Guards Division memorial in St James’s Park and the Household Division’s memorial in Horse Guards Parade. In 1934, supported by Eric Gill and Edwin Lutyens, he established a company called Sculptured Memorials and Headstones, which promoted better design of memorials in English churchyards. His war memorials after World War II include one in Westminster Abbey to the Submarine Service, Commandos and Airborne Forces. Ledward was Professor of Sculpture at the Royal College of Art (1927-1929) and in 1937 was elected at Royal Academician. He became President of the Royal Society of British Sculptors and a trustee of the Royal Academy. The present work is a design for an intended decorative frieze for the Italian Drawing Room of Eltham Palace. In 1935 the remains of the medieval royal palace of Eltham was rescued from decay by Stephen and Virginia Courtald who built an ultra modern Art Deco house to adjoin the existing Great Hall. They employed the architects John Seeley and Paul Edward Paget and the fashionable Mayfair interior designer the Marchese Peter Malacrida to design the strikingly glamorous 1930s interiors of the new house. The dramatic entrance hall was created by the Swedish designer Rolf Engstromer...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Watercolor

Ferdinand Preiss Hoop Girl And Sonny Boy Painted Bronze Figures
Ferdinand Preiss Hoop Girl And Sonny Boy Painted Bronze Figures

Ferdinand Preiss Hoop Girl And Sonny Boy Painted Bronze Figures

By Ferdinand Preiss

Located in Dallas, TX

Ferdinand Preiss (German, 1882 - 1943) Hoop Girl & Sonny Boy Cold-painted bronze Circa 1930, Art Deco Period Dimensions: 8.18 Inches Tall x 4.65 Inches wide x 2.75 inches deep. ...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Ducks
Ducks

Ducks

Located in PARIS, FR

Ducks by Josette HEBERT-COEFFIN (1906-1973) Sculpture made in stone signed on the base "J. H. Coëffin" France circa 1930 height 10 cm width 16,5 cm depth 14,1 cm Biography : Jose...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Limestone

Head of a young girl
Head of a young girl

Head of a young girl

Located in PARIS, FR

Head of a young girl also known as "Portrait of Jacqueline Hiegel" by Paul BELMONDO (1898-1982) A bronze sculpture with a nuanced brown patina Signed on the back "P. Belmondo" Cast...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Bronze Portrait Bust of Jonkheer Roelants (Provincial Clerk Netherlands)
Bronze Portrait Bust of Jonkheer Roelants (Provincial Clerk Netherlands)

Bronze Portrait Bust of Jonkheer Roelants (Provincial Clerk Netherlands)

Located in Wilton Manors, FL

Jan Boedts (1904-1973). Hulde ann Jonkheer Roelants, ca. 1935. Bronze cast mounted to stone base measuring 20.5" h, 10.5" d, 8" w. The piece was commissioned by the court of King ...

Category

Impressionist 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Mahout washing his elephant
Mahout washing his elephant

Mahout washing his elephant

Located in PARIS, FR

Mahout washing his elephant by Roger GODCHAUX (1878-1958) A very rare sculpture in bronze with a nuanced dark brown patina Signed on the base "Roger Godchaux" Cast by "Susse Frs Edt...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Portrait of a woman
Portrait of a woman

Portrait of a woman

Located in PARIS, FR

Portrait of a woman by Marcel GIMOND (1894-1961) Bronze with a nuanced dark brown patina signed on the neck with the monogram "MG" period cast by "Meroni Radice, cire perdue, Paris"...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus

Located in PARIS, FR

Hippopotamus by Armand PETERSEN (1891-1969) Sculpture in dull finish white tender paste porcelain. The bottom signed with the monogram « AP ». Stamped « B - G (for Bing & Grønda...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Elephant running with coiled trunk
Elephant running with coiled trunk

Elephant running with coiled trunk

Located in PARIS, FR

Elephant running with coiled trunk by Roger GODCHAUX (1878-1958) Sculpture in bronze with a very nuanced brown patina Signed on the base "Roger Godchaux" Cast by "Susse Frs Edts Par...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Art Deco Venetian Mask Handcarved Wood Panel Wall Sculpture, circa 1930
Art Deco Venetian Mask Handcarved Wood Panel Wall Sculpture, circa 1930

Art Deco Venetian Mask Handcarved Wood Panel Wall Sculpture, circa 1930

Located in Atlanta, GA

This extraordinary Art Deco wood panel or wall-mounted sculpture features a spectacular Venetian mask. The rare piece was crafted in France circa 1930. The sculpted panel boasts fine...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Portrait of a Man
Portrait of a Man

Portrait of a Man

Located in PARIS, FR

Portrait of a Man by Marcel GIMOND (1894-1961) Bronze with a very nuanced dark brown patina signed on the neck with the monogram "MG" period cast by "Meroni Radice, cire perdue, Par...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Magnificent Italian Fountain Sculpture of Goddess with Delphines
Magnificent Italian Fountain Sculpture of Goddess with Delphines

Magnificent Italian Fountain Sculpture of Goddess with Delphines

Located in Rome, IT

Monumental finely carved limestone fountain sculpture of Goddess with a putto figure and three magnificent dolphins . Proveniente from an important Villa Veneta. Including a round ...

Category

Academic 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Limestone

La Ranocchietta - Bronze by Aurelio Mistruzzi - 1930
La Ranocchietta - Bronze by Aurelio Mistruzzi - 1930

La Ranocchietta - Bronze by Aurelio Mistruzzi - 1930

Located in Roma, IT

Bronze with dark brown patina, realized by Aurelio Mistruzzi in 1930.  Elegant bronze sculpture depicting a young nude female figure captured in a playful, animated pose, traditiona...

Category

Modern 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Italian Mannerist style Italian mythological figurative bronze statuette of the 20th century
Italian Mannerist style Italian mythological figurative bronze statuette of the 20th century

Italian Mannerist style Italian mythological figurative bronze statuette of the 20th century

Located in Florence, IT

The small bronze depicts a small seated faun, immortalized while playing a wind instrument as can be clearly seen by the puffy cheeks. is signed at the base R. Castagnino and is from...

Category

Mannerist 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Return from the Tiger hunt
Return from the Tiger hunt

Return from the Tiger hunt

Located in PARIS, FR

"Return from the Hunt" also named '"Return from the Tiger hunt" by Roger GODCHAUX (1878-1958) Remarkable bronze group with a nuanced dark greenish brown patina Signed on the base "...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

The Comedy
The Comedy

The Comedy

Located in PARIS, FR

Pierre-Marie POISSON (1876-1953) The Comedy Bronze sculpture with black patina signed on the base "P. Poisson" Cast by Valsuani (with the foundry stamp) Raised on a stone base Fra...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Pair of bookends with Elephants
Pair of bookends with Elephants

Pair of bookends with Elephants

By Ary Bitter

Located in PARIS, FR

Pair of bookends with Elephants by Ary BITTER (1883-1973) A very fine pair of bronze sculptures with a nuanced green patina Signed " Ary Bitter Sclp " on an original plaque on one o...

Category

French School 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Woman's Chest - Bronze Sculpture by Aurelio Mistruzzi
Woman's Chest - Bronze Sculpture by Aurelio Mistruzzi

Woman's Chest - Bronze Sculpture by Aurelio Mistruzzi

Located in Roma, IT

Edition of 100 copies numbered and signed by the artist. Excellent conditions. Aurelio Mistruzzi was an Italian sculptor and medalist. He attended the Udine ...

Category

1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Panther sniffing
Panther sniffing

Panther sniffing

Located in PARIS, FR

Panther sniffing by Georges GUYOT (1885-1972) Sculpture in bronze with a nuanced greenish dark brown patina Signed on the base " Guyot " Cast by "Susse Frs Edts Paris" (with the fou...

Category

Art Deco 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Isabella

Isabella

Located in West Hollywood, CA

Presenting an original carved wood sculpture by American WPA artist Avis Zeidler Nemkoff. "Isabella", is a hand carved wood sculpture measuring 18.5 inches tall, exceptional original condition, originally acquired from the estate of the artist who resided in Northern California. This is a magnificent one of a kind hand carved wood sculpture, c.1938. Please contact the gallery for additional information •Avis Zeidler was born in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1908. •It is not known when Zeidler moved to California. However, in the 1930s she majored in art at the University of California. •Later, she enrolled at the California School of Fine Arts after receiving a scholarship for her studies there. She studied with Ray Boynton, Lucien Labaudt, Karl Eugen Neuhaus, and Ralph Stackpole...

Category

American Modern 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Harmony, 20th century bronze & green marble base, nude man and woman with lyre
Harmony, 20th century bronze & green marble base, nude man and woman with lyre

Harmony, 20th century bronze & green marble base, nude man and woman with lyre

By Max Kalish

Located in Beachwood, OH

Max Kalish (American, 1891-1945) Harmony, c. 1930 Bronze with green marble base Incised signature on right upper side of base 14 x 9 x 5 inches, excluding base 17 x 10 x 8 inches, including base Born in Poland March 1, 1891, figurative sculptor Max Kalish came to the United States in 1894, his family settling in Ohio. A talented youth, Kalish enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Art as a fifteen-year-old, receiving a first-place award for modeling the figure during studies with Herman Matzen. Kalish went to New York City following graduation, studying with Isidore Konti...

Category

American Modern 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Head of Young Boy
Head of Young Boy

Head of Young Boy

By Marino Marini

Located in Roma, IT

This head of young boy is a rare, precious and unpublished sculpture by Marino Marini, belonging to a private collection for over 60 years. The same subject...

Category

Modern 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Nude Walking, Early 20th Century Bronze Sculpture, Cleveland School Artist
Nude Walking, Early 20th Century Bronze Sculpture, Cleveland School Artist

Nude Walking, Early 20th Century Bronze Sculpture, Cleveland School Artist

By Max Kalish

Located in Beachwood, OH

Max Kalish (American, 1891-1945) Nude Walking, 1930 Bronze Signed and dated on base 17 x 9 x 4 inches Born in Poland March 1, 1891, figurative sculptor Max Kalish came to the United States in 1894, his family settling in Ohio. A talented youth, Kalish enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Art as a fifteen-year-old, receiving a first-place award for modeling the figure during studies with Herman Matzen. Kalish went to New York City following graduation, studying with Isidore Konti and Herbert Adams...

Category

American Modern 1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

"Mende Mask, " Carved Wooden Mask created in Sierra Leone c. 1930
"Mende Mask, " Carved Wooden Mask created in Sierra Leone c. 1930

"Mende Mask, " Carved Wooden Mask created in Sierra Leone c. 1930

Located in Milwaukee, WI

This mask was hand-carved by an unknown artist from the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone, Africa. It depicts a face with its eyes downcast, hair in rows, and two birds on the top. 16" x 10" x 10 1/2" The Mende people (also spelled Mendi) are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone. The Mende are mostly farmers and hunters. Much Mandé art is in the form of jewelry and carvings. The masks associated with the fraternal and sorority associations of the Marka and the Mendé are probably the best-known, and finely crafted in the region. The Mandé also produce beautifully woven fabrics which are popular throughout western Africa, and gold and silver necklaces, bracelets, armlets, and earrings. Masks are the collective Mind of Mende community; viewed as one body, they are the Spirit of the Mende people. The Mende mask...

Category

1930s Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Wood