20th Century Sculptures

Mirabile by Angelo Canevari is a striking and tactile work that showcases the artist's ability to transform organic materials into a profound statement. Using leather and stone, Cane...

1970s wooden sculpture of a woman looking upwards.

This engagind and intense artwork was create in 1985 by the Italian artist Edmondo Cirillo. It was forged in bronze and then silver plated. The title of this piece is "Stele frontal...

This turned Burlwood vase has rich earth tones with copper highlights. The swirling burl pattern comes through the glossy surface that contrasts with the...

Dina Recanati Cosmos Series (they look like outer space or abstract desert landscapes) 2003 Metallic paint, acid etched on aluminum, wood Hand signed and dated on side Dina Recanati (born Diane Hettena; 1928 – 2021) was an Israeli artist, sculptor and painter. Diane Hettena was born in Cairo, Egypt. In 1946, she married Raphael Recanati in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine. Went to London to study History and Art 1946-1948. Moved to New York 1948. Raised two sons, Oudi and Michael. Attended Art Student League 1959-1962. Studied with Jose de Creft and John Hovannes. Beginning in 1964, she was active on the board of the America-israel Cultural Foundation. In the 1970s, she was a member of the board of the Israel Museum and in the 1980s Bezalel Academy of Art & Design, Jerusalem. At the same time as she was working as an artist, she was also collecting artwork. She lives and works in Herzliya and New York. Most of Recanati's work is in the medium of sculpture. Her works, which contain images of books or parchment, have been influenced by American abstract expressionism in their use of swaths of color. In the 1980s and 1990s, she worked widely in sculptures in the public domain. Dina Recanati was a proponent of Israeli art and supported many Israeli artists. In the 1950s and 1960s, she showcased the work of beginning artists at the 5th Avenue branch of Israel Discount Bank in New York City, while growing Discount Bank’s art collection. She has gone on to exhibit worldwide with permanent works in the Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum, Ben Gurion Airport, The Jewish Museum (New York) among others. She is the recipient of the AICF AVIV Award and The Council for a Beautiful Israel Yakir Award. She was represented by Flomenhaft Gallery in New York City (was included in the Feminist Art Project along with Miriam Schapiro) and Gordon Gallery in Tel Aviv. Recanati died in Herzliya Pituah at the ate of 93. Israeli Art: Painting, Sculpture, Graphic Work. Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv 1971 Artists: Igael Tumarkin, Bezalel Schatz, Yehiel Shemi, Buky Schwartz, Dina Recanati, Menashe Kadishman, David Palombo, Itzhak Danziger, Sorel Etrog, Yaacov Agam, Jakob Steinhardt, Louise Schatz, Anna Ticho, Ruth Schloss, Moshe Castel, Yohanan Simon, Lea Nikel, Marcel Janco, Mordecai Ardon etc. 40 From Israel: Contemporary Sculpture & Drawing Israel: Contemporary Sculpture & Drawing Brooklyn...

Howard Kanovitz The People, 1971 3-5 Mixed Media Silkscreen on Plexiglas and aluminum base Signed: Artist's Signature etched on the work and annotated A.P., Edition of 1 (an Artists Proof, aside from the regular edition of 75) 15 × 16 × 1 1/2 inches Signatured etched on the work and annotated A.P. , aside from the limited edition of 75. This excellent 1971 3-D photo realist work "The People" is a multiple based upon a larger work the artist did of people beholding a work of art. Here, we see them only from behind, because they are busy looking at art - a clever photorealist work - art about art - catching people in the process of looking at art. Howard Kanovitz Biography Howard Kanovitz was a leader of Photo Realism: a documenter of style and fashion, depicting members of the art scene at openings, or superimposing known critics and curators onto images of board room meetings. In his particular style, he explored the intersections of painting, photography, fiction, and fact. Kanovitz studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and The Art Studenst League in Woodstock where he worked with Yasuo Kyniyoshi before moving to New York an apprenticing with Franz Kline. As a member of New York’s downtown art scene, Kanovitz painted abstract paintings, which he exhibited at Tenth Street Galleries early in his career. Following his father’s death in 1963, Kanovitz went through family photos, an experience which prompted him to interrogate the relationship between images and perception. At this time, Kanovitz abandoned abstraction in favor of a figurative style and worked arduously in this new direction. These efforts culminated in a 1966 solo exhibition at the Jewish Museum, securing his place as a leader of Photo Realism among artists such as Larry Rivers, Alex Katz, and Chuck Close. His photo based, representational paintings exhibited at the Jewish Museum show were the first to be called “photo-realist” and shocked many in the art community prompting a symposium which was held at the New York Studio School for “downtown artists” to weigh in on this perennial “hot topic”, newly addressed by one of their own. Kanovitz first began using airbrush in 1967, giving his paintings a feeling of photographic perfection. Cut out figures created using this precisionist technique were placed in the viewers space, often in front of Kanovitz’s painted canvas depicting the luminaries of the art world of the time. This type of installation was the centerpiece in the first of several Waddell Gallery shows. Kanovitz has been the subject of many solo museum shows internationally and his work is collected by institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tate Britain, London, and Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna. -Courtesy Eric Firestone...

Cool Mid-Century Modern Scandinavian 1950s Kosta Boda Rurik clear round textured ashtray in great vintage condition. No chips or cracks. Glass has a nice weight to it —minimal wear c...

Tom Cramer (b.1960). Standing Figure, 1998. Carved wood and polymer paint. Measures 17.5 inches high. Excellent condition. Signed and dated under base. Tom Cramer is an American artist working in Portland, Oregon noted for his intricately carved and painted wood reliefs and ubiquity throughout the city of Portland. Often called the unofficial Artist Laureate of Portland,[2] Cramer is one of the most visible and successful artists in the city. The influences on his work are both organic and technological. He is widely collected and is in many prominent west coast museum and private collections. He is in the permanent collections of the Portland Art Museum[3] in Portland Oregon, the Halle Ford Museum in Salem Oregon, the Jordan Schnitzer Museum in Eugene, Oregon, the Boise Art Museum in Idaho. Cramer made a name for himself in the 1980s and 1990s becoming a bridge between historical Oregon artists like Clifford Gleason and Milton Wilson...

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...

This very intense and engaging artwork was created by Urano Palma that is a well known Italian artist who starts to create his artworks following the philosophy of Lucio Fontana. He ...

This bronze anthropomorphic sculpture is part of the "Canopo" series. With a modern interpretation, Canevari revisited the sacred vases of the ancient Etruscan civilization from the regions of Tuscany and Umbria in Italy. The Etruscans were a polytheistic civilization that believed that all visible phenomena were a manifestation of divine power. Canevari interprets the theme's secrecy and mysteriousness in this monumental yet intimate piece. The curved anthropomorphic and totemic shape of the sculpture opens into a magical inside, hiding more secrets and sacred objects. The two sides open like embracing arms, revealing a star-shaped medallion and a glass pendulum. The use of rings and solid bronze blocks hanging and protruding from the surface creates a theatrical play of light and shadows. Angelo Canevari is an Italian sculptor from a long lineage of artists active in Rome since the 17th century. He has been commissioned several works by the Vatican, including the Bronze Doors of the Cathedral of Belluno and the Vatican Coins...

Title: Cabeza de Caballo Medium: Iron Sculpture Size: 9 x 7 x 3.5 in. (22.86 x 17.78 x 8.89 cm)

La escultura se compone de una base rectangular de madera, robusta y de acabado natural, sobre la que se erigen dos varillas metálicas verticales y delgadas. Una de las varillas sost...

Jack Earl Mug Material: Clay, glaze Size: approx. 5.5 x 4.5 x 2 Date unknown Signed by artist Jack Earl (born August 2, 1934 in Uniopolis, Ohio) is an Ameri...

Dimitri Hadzi Uxmal, 1991 Cast bronze on custom made granite base 17 × 30 1/2 × 14 inches The title UXMAL, refers to the ancient Mayan city of Uxmal, which is known for its "Pyramid of the Magician" Provenance: Acquired by the original owner from the prestigious Gremillion Gallery in Houston, Texas (accompanied by a copy of the original receipt) Measurements: Base: 26.5 by 11 by 1.75 inches Work longest 30.5 inches Widest 14 inches Highest. 17 inches More about Dimitri Hadzi" Derived from the figure and mythic narratives, Hadzi’s sculpture references antiquity and classical artifacts – abstracted anatomical forms, columnar and other architectural elements, helmets, weaponry and body armor function as visual metaphors for ancient cultures. “I was interested in mythology, and I was interested in movement,” Hadzi remarked on his years in Rome, “I was attempting through formal methods to exaggerate sexual tension or apprehension. Suddenly I was myself in an atmosphere of freedom.” [1] Powerfully rendered in bronze his sculptures convey raw emotion, brute strength and mass, tempered with a delicate rush of whimsy, vivacity and sensuality. Born in New York City on March 21, 1921, Hadzi graduated from Cooper Union in 1950 and received a Fulbright Fellowship in the same year. After studying sculpture in Greece, he moved to Rome under the GI Bill where he lived for twenty-five years. Hadzi returned to the U.S. where he taught at Harvard University for fourteen years. He continued to create sculpture until his death in 2006. Hadzi is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art; the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; The Phillips Collection and the Guggenheim Museum. Receiving over twenty sculpture commissions, Hadzi’s work appears in public squares, concert halls, federal and private plazas, and universities throughout the world. --------------- [1] Elsen, Albert. “On Artistic Freedom: An Interview,” Dimitri Hadzi, (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1996), 30. Additional Biography: Dimitri Hadzi (1921 – 2006) is among the most distinguished modernist sculptors, creator of works in bronze and stone that are powerfully abstract and expressionist in character. His contribution to the international language of sculpture continues to influence and inspire through permanent installations and collections, and exhibitions worldwide. Born to Greek-American immigrant parents in New York City, he had a talent for drawing at an early age and won a prize for his young ability. But, it wasn't until after serving in the Air-force in the South Pacific during WWII that he turned his sights fully to painting and sculpture, going on to study both at Cooper Union. Eventually, he would become a mainstay of the Cambridge, MA art community. He was a Guggenheim Fellow (1957), the winner of the Venice Biennale Award (1962), and the Rome Prize (1974). His most notable sculptures are: Copley Place Waterfall (Boston, MA), Owen Glass Co. (Toledo, OH), as well as Thermopolis, adjacent to Boston’s City Hall Plaza, and the former Omphalos in Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA). Hadzi is included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art; National Gallery of Art; Whitney Museum of American Art; Museum of Fine Art, Boston; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; The Phillips Collection and the Guggenheim Museum. Additionally, Hadzi was also a prolific painter, and printmaker. He also taught at Harvard University for over a decade. Famously, David Hockney attended one of Hadzi’s classes at the Carpenter Center at Harvard, where Hadzi served as director. The two of them spent time together painting and discussing techniques. Hockney gifted Hadzi one of his paintings. He worked alongside his good friend, Nobel Prize winning Irish poet...

Silver Composition is an original decorative object realized by Nino Franchina in 1960. Original sculpture realized in silvered bronze. Bronze patinated silver sculpture. Signed a...

A Songye Male Power Figure, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the male figure resting on one knee, with openwork arms and hands resting by the abdomen which contains various charms a...

This engaging bronze abstract sculpture was created by the Italian artist Luciana Matalon in 1980. This is a mulptiple of 1000 specimens numbered and signed. The title is " Gente e d...

Organic abstract sculpture by G. Krueger. The Serpentine stone has gorgeous earth-toned green, yellow, and orange hues, sculpted into a flowing shape in the style of Herman Miller Sc...

Erte Bronze “Masquerade” Signed And Numbered. In excellent condition. Measures 20x7

Walter Sinz (American, 1881-1966) Mother and Child, 1949 Plaster Signed and dated on base 23.5 x 6 x 9 inches Walter A. Sinz was an American sculptor born in Cleveland, Ohio on Jul...

Artist/Designer; Manufacturer: Karl Stirner (German/American, 1923-2016) Marking(s); notes: signed Materials: bronze Dimensions (H, W, D): 19.75"h, 10"w, ...

Mid-Century Ibibio wood carving of a Great Hornbill or (Kalao) from Nigeria. (The carving is shown in the first photo on a bamboo stand which is available if required.) The Great Ho...

Bernard & Arnaud Bessoud, 1946 & 1971 French "Lion Head", Bronze with brown patina Foundry Chapon Signed on the base and numbered Certificate from the Ar...

Rendered in bronze, this bas-relief portrait of the 16th president of the United States is from a limited run of only two editions. The wall-mounted artwork is signed in the metal ve...

Molten Glass Plate....Triomphale ..... Blue & Gold by Salvador Dali Limited Edition Daum plate made of blue Pate-de-Verre textured glass with gilt highli...

Sculpture, 1990 Handsigned by the artist in pencil Compression of capsules and wires Unique work of a series in 500 different copies Depth: 2.30 cm A modestly sized compression of ...

Here for your consideration is a original sculpted marble elongated figure by the artist Joseph L. Rotella. Signed on the bottom back of the sculpture as well as the underside of the...

This very intense and engaging artwork was created by Urano Palma that is a well known Italian artist who starts to create his artworks following the philosophy of Lucio Fontana. He ...

Decorative pottery, mimicking barnacles. Surface has a nice texture and color.

Wonderful and one of a kind nude sculpture by Noche Crist (1909-2004). Sculpture is made from polyester resin. Catalogue of a postumous retrospective in 2008 at the American Universi...

Chain measures 19.5 inches in length Pendant measures 2.4 X 1.5 X .5 inches Pal Kepenyes is a sculptor and researcher of Hungarian art, whose artistic production includes sculptures of small and medium format, jewelry and miniature decorative pieces, all made by hand, without any machinery. Wearable art. Sculptural pendant on matching chain cast in polished bronze or brass. Reminiscent of Harry Bertoia. Organic Modernism. Mod, space age, handmade artisan, studio jewelry. Pal Kepenyes, wearable art pioneer. sculptor, goldsmith, jeweler, artist, was born in 1926 in Hungary. His creative talent, specifically in creating sculpted works, was evident early on. He moved to Budapest, where he first studied at the University of Arts and Crafts and later at the Academy of Fine Arts. His professor, Beni Ferenczy was one of Hungary's most influential sculptors. Pal Kepenyes (20/21st century) is active/lives in Hungary, Mexico. Pal Kepenyes is known for sculpture, jewelry making, miniature decorative pieces especially influenced by Mexican folk art and folklore. His work also includes animals, lions, tigers, fish, nude figures and milagros. He began his studies at the School of Decorative Arts in Budapest, and then was a prisoner of war during the Stalinist regime. In 1956, at the end of the Hungarian Revolution, he finally was released and left the country for Paris, where he studied at the School of Fine Arts. In 1956, he also traveled to Mexico, a country to which he has been devoted for the rest of his life because of his attraction pre-hispanic cultures. Along with Pedro Friedeberg, Arnold Coen, Vladimir Cora, Byron Galvez, Mathias Goeritz, Leonardo Nierman, Gabriel Orozco...

This sculpture is part of our exhibition America Coast to Coast: Artists of the 1930s Kossack, c. late 1930s, polychromed cedar and walnut relief sculpture, carved signature under the base of the figure, 15 x 8 x 3 1/2 inches (figure), 10 x 19 inches (board), exhibited at Zeidler's solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art, November - December, 1942 (label verso), label verso reads "Kossack / cedar & walnut / Avis Zeidler" About the Sculpture Kossack is typical of Aviz Zeidler’s direct carved wood sculptures of the 1930s. The subject looks directly at the viewer, unfeeling behind a polychromed stare. Seemingly influenced by two of her major teachers, California’s Ralph Stackpole and New York’s William Zorach, Zeidler drew on primitive traditions to create what one critic described as her “gruesome wood sculptures.” Rigid, solid, and unmoving are other words that characterize Zeidler’s statues which often seem to have the deeply rooted ancient power of a totem. Zeidler’s “grimacing artificiality does, indeed, manage to hold a sense of force,” is how The San Francisco Examiner art critic put it in 1938 when describing the artist’s award-winning entry at the San Francisco Art Museum. The same words could have applied to Kossack when it was exhibited at the museum four years later. Perhaps the artist was trying to contain the power of the fearsome Kossacks, the enemy of so many Eastern European peasants, by freezing the image in wood. About the Artist Avis Zeidler (Nemkoff) was a California-based artist who is principally known for her sculpture and drawings. She was born in Madison, Wisconsin, but moved to Northern California by the late 1920s where she majored in art at Berkely and studied with Lucien Labaudt, Ray Boynton...

Rosa Portugal marble torso of a woman. Unsigned. Late 20th century. In excellent condition. American School. 18.5 inches high by 10 wise by 7 inche...

signed "Signori" on base rose marble from Paonazzo weighs 160 pounds

This frosted fused glass is an expressionist sculpture that's organic in shape. The analogous colors create a serene design. Signature inscribed 'Nivet'.

Ellen Key-Oberg (1905-1989), "Untitled: Modernist Abstract Figure/Creature", Abstract/ Modern Lithograph on Paper signed in Pencil, 21 x 17, Mid 20th Century Colors: Black and White...

A collection of five hand-made Japanese Noh drama masks, four of them hand-carved wood, and one (the largest, the one that's black and red on one half and w...

Burled Maple Sculpture Nude Woman with Arms Over Head Beautiful burled walnut sculpture of a nude woman. The woman stands with her arms stretched over her head. Behind her a dark st...

David Pryor Adickes American (b. 1927) John F. Kennedy bas-relief plaster relief sculpture in artists frame incised signature lower center. with gold stars. Deep relief, approximatel...

The bronze sculpture "Owl" is an exaggerated rendition of an owl that emphasizes the bird's most prominant characteristics - a big fluffy round body and large unblinking eyes making it a charicature of the bird. It is very touchable and calls for one to pet its rounded back. Tom Brun, the sculptor and zookeeper, is well-known for his wood, stone, marble, ceramics and ivory sculptures. One of them, a large hippopotamus, carved from walnut wood travelled the world in the State Department collection. It is said that Tom would often go into a house and pick up one of his sculptures and say that it was unfriendly – meaning that it had not been handled enough. Morley Driver has said of Brun in a newspaper article from the 1950’s “In Any Animal He Sees Beauty”: No one who has ever seen a Tom Brun hippopotamus will ever again think of it as ugly or ungainly, meaning that the artist not only gives you beauty but teaches you to see it. Tom has said: “Small pieces are like a proverb – a gem of meaning that one can dissect.” They are meant to be picked up, caressed and held. This owl, too, seems destined to be caressed. Brun was born in England in 1913. A few years after the end of World War I his father moved the family in 1919 to Detroit, Michigan. In 1935 at age 23, he officially became a U.S. citizen. He served in the army during World War II for five years and upon discharge and at the age of 36 took advantage of the GI Bill and applied for admission to Society of Arts and Crafts (now known as the College for Creative Studies) where he was gladly accepted. While at Arts and Crafts his instructors and established artists such as Sarkis Sarkisian, John P. Foster, Morris Brose, Richard Koslow, Patricia Burnett, Lloyd and Renee Radell...

"On the Wings of an Eagle by Chester Fields is one of his most popular sculptures. This is number 26 of 75 made. It is made with the following: Bronze Casting Deluxe Patina Gold Beak...

Eli Ilan (אלי אילן), 1928-1982 was an Israeli sculptor. Abstract organic pod shape. in either steel or iron mounted on a wooden plinth. Ilan was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He enrolled in a premedical curriculum at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and emigrated to Israel in 1948. He then studied prehistoric archaeology and physical anthropology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1956, he returned to Canada to study sculpture at the Ontario College of Art & Design. He lived in Kibbutz Sasa from 1959 to 1963. He died in 1982 in Caesarea, Israel. Education 1955 Hebrew University, Jerusalem, pre-historic archaeology and physical anthropology 1956 Ontario College of Art, Toronto, Canada, sculpture under Thomas Bowie 1959 Training College, Ottawa, criminal identification techniques 1969 Art Festival, Painting & Sculpture in Israel. Ganei Hataarucha, Tel Aviv Artists: Chana Orloff, Eli Ilan, Zvi Aldouby, Jacob El Hanani, Ludwig Blum, Aharon Bezalel, Koki Doktori, Israel Hadany, Marcel Janco, Dov Feigin, Abel Pann, Esther Peretz Arad, Reuven Rubin, Ivan Schwebel, Jakob Steinhardt, Boris Schatz, Bezalel (Lilik) Schatz, Louise Schatz...

Jesus Rafael Soto "Hannover" 1970 Color silkscreen on transparent plexiglass panel, metal rods on nylon threads. It has the original box. 7 x 21 x 5 in Ed. 170 of 200 Provenance: Va...

A superb bronze cast of Edgar Degas’ iconic dancer, Danseuse agrafant l’épaulette de son corsage presents a moment of disarming intimacy: a young ballerina absorbed in adjusting the ...

Striking bronze organic sculpture by Latin American sculptor Raúl Valdivieso (Chilean, 1931-1993). Valdivieso is known for his reinterpretation of the ...

60% OFF LIST PRICE - LIMITED TIME Peter Voulkos Large Tea Bowl (brown glaze) Stoneware and wood fired Circa mid-1990s 4.5 x 6 x 6 in Large Teabowl (blue glaze) Stoneware and wood ...

Ugo La Pietra is an Italian artist, architect, designer and philosophy. Since 1960 he created the fundamental of European artistic tendancy as founder of various art groups such as Global Tool, Radical Design...

Chana Orloff (1888–1968) Seated Woman, 1958 Bronze, Height: 55 cm Signed, dated, and numbered 3/8 Stamped with foundry mark Susse Fondeur, Paris A masterful example of Chana Orloff’...

This sculpture is part of our exhibition Charles Goeller: A Wistful Loneliness. Carved and painted wood and gesso, 23 x 15 3/4 x 3 inches, Signed verso "Carved by Charles L. Goeller...

Artist: Arbit Blatas, Lithuanian (1908 - 1999) Title: Andre Derain Medium: Bronze Sculpture, signature inscribed on base Arbit Blatas and his works have been part of the art scene f...

Artist: Sandro Chia (Italian, b. 1946) Title: Angel with Heart (large) Year: circa 1980 Edition: 2/6 Medium: Bronze, signature and numbering inscribed Size: 29 x 14 x 7 in. (73.66 ...

Georges Charpentier, French (1937 - 2024) - Portrait of A Woman, Year: circa 1980, Medium: Bronze sculpture with gold patina on wooden base, signature and numbering inscribed, Edit...

SALE ONE WEEK ONLY Schmidt mainly worked in cast iron and bronze. This work reflects the influences of ancient cultures, natural forms, and the machinery of the modern age. Synthesi...

"The Clever Sentimentalist" Surrealist Relief Sculpture Mickey Kane Striking relief sculpture which evokes the human form. An organic yellow shape rests in the center of the composi...

Grisha Bruskin (Russian, b. 1945) Vision, 1992 steel Hand signed and inscribed Grisha Bruskin in Cyrillic numbered 117/300 Genre: Contemporary Subject: Religious Medium: Steel Gri...

This is an astonishing artwork made by the Italian artist Alex Corno. This is one of the nine existing multiples. The row material get in touch the human souls and the natural rough in the universe. The "not" ended circle represent the hope in the future, the way still needs to be done. Alex Corno was born in Monza (Italy), in 1960. In 1982 was graduated at the Art Academy in Brera Milano and he started to work with the well known Italian sculptor Alik Cavaliere. In 1985 he started to exhibit in the best Italian Gallery...

Geometric Composition is a sculpture realized in 1984 by Giuseppe Pulvirenti (Siracusa, Sicily, 1959).  Made in Italy. Steel. Signed and dated: G. Pulvirenti 84. The sculpture de...

Pablo Picasso ( Ceramic work made in Vallauris .France ) "Scène de tauromachie " model created 11 June 1959 , numbered 54 / 100 . Mint Condition .Original work edited in a series of ...

William Zorach (American 1891-1966) First Steps, 1918 Bronze 8.5 x 5 x 4 inches, including base Born in 1887 in Lithuania, William Zorach immigrated with his family to the United States when he was just four years old, settling in Cleveland, Ohio. Zorach displayed an exceptional artistic talent at a young age and, at the recommendation of his seventh-grade teacher, began studying lithography at night at the Cleveland School of Art. It was not long before he was apprenticing at a lithography company in Cleveland. It was there that he realized he wanted to become an artist - to escape the commercial end of the field in which he was suddenly immersed. In 1907, Zorach saved enough money to move to New York and study art at the National Academy of Design, where he received several awards for his paintings and drawings. He continued his studies in Paris in 1910 at La Palette. This year abroad would turn out to be quite fruitful because in Paris he was greatly influenced by the Cubist and Fauvist movements and had several paintings exhibited at the Salon d'Automme. This influence and subsequent success fueled his career back in the states where he was honored with his first one-man exhibition. Due to this new-found stability, he married a young woman he met at school in Paris, and they moved to New York and set up a studio. Shortly after, their work was accepted into the famous 1913 Armory Show. For the next nine years, Zorach continued to think of himself as a painter, although he had already begun to experiment in sculpting. He was experiencing modest success with his painting and was therefore reluctant to abandon it completely. However, he was impelled toward sculpting, and in 1922, he painted his last oil. Zorach's involvement with sculpture began largely be accident. While he was working on a series of wood-block prints, Zorach suddenly became more interested in the butternut panel than the print and turned the panel into a carved relief. With no formal training as a sculptor, Zorach's first sculptures were of wood and his carving tools were primitive, such as a jack-knife. I n fact, his early works have a certain stylized look, suggesting the influence of various primitive arts such as African and American folk. Zorach found his sculptural direction by instinct, but was not unaware of what other sculptors were doing, both here and abroad. He soon allied himself with a growing number of modern sculptors who believed in the esthetic necessity of carving their own designs directly in the block of stone or wood rather than modeling them in clay. From the beginning he found a deep satisfaction in the slow and patient process of freeing the image from its imprisoning block, watching the forms emerge and appear. "The actual resistance of tough material is a wonderful guide," Zorach said in a lecture on direct sculpture in 1930. The sculptor "cannot make changes easily, there is no putting back tomorrow what was cut away today. His senses are constantly alert. If something goes wrong there is the struggle to right the rhythm. And slowly the vision grows as the work progresses." Zorach also found that the material itself had a constantly modifying effect on the artist's vision. The grain of the wood, the markings in the stone, the shape of the log or boulder all set limits and suggested possibilities. He was always sensitive to the characteristic qualities of his material and occasionally let them play a major role in determining his forms. In works such as these, the feel of the original material is preserved in the finished piece and is often heightened by leaving parts of the original surface untouched and other areas roughly marked by the sculptors tools...