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Mid-20th Century Sculptures

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Period: Mid-20th Century
1970 Italy Modular Kinetic Stainless Steel Abstract Wall Panel by Maldonado
Located in Brescia, IT
The mirrored surfaces of the stainless steel Maldonado work of art, reflect the world around. Maldonado's artistic research has an ethological matrix: a sign as a kind of pre-Incan g...
Category

Abstract Geometric Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Stainless Steel

Terracotta Bust of Roman Emperor
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This terra-cotta sculpture no doubt depicts the bust of Roman Emperor or Senator in classical dress gazing over his left shoulder. This is a magnificently robust life size bust. His ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta, Glaze

"Mercury" NYC 1931 Bronze 5th Ave Traffic Light Sculpture American Art Deco WPA
Located in New York, NY
"Mercury" NYC 1931 Bronze 5th Ave Traffic Light Sculpture American Art Deco WPA In the late 1920s, Joseph Freedlander was asked by the City of New York ...
Category

Art Deco Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Pablo Picasso, Plate, " Bouquet à la pomme " (Bunch with Apple), 1956 A.R. 307
Located in tel aviv, IL
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) was one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, the founder of Cubism, and one of those who radically transformed the understanding of form, space, and...
Category

Synthetic Cubist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Earthenware, Underglaze

Satyr - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Terracotta sculpture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his chil...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Vincent Glinsky Alabaster Reclining Nude Sculpture c.1950
Located in San Francisco, CA
Vincent Glinsky Alabaster Reclining Nude Sculpture c.1950 9" long x 4.5" deep x 7.5" high Signed at the base Good vintage condition Vincent Glins...
Category

Art Deco Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Alabaster

Pablo Picasso 'Visage No. 193' (A. R. 493) Face Madoura Plate 1963
Located in Miami, FL
PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) Visage No. 193 (A. R. 493) Terre de faïence plate, 1963, numbered 73/150, inscribed 'Edition Picasso' and 'Madoura', glazed and painted.
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

The Couple
Located in New York, NY
This pair of male and female brass masks are emblematic of Hagenauer’s highly stylized Art Deco design. The artist’s reductionist approach together with a nod to African tribal shiel...
Category

Abstract Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Brass

Rosenthal Porcelain Ballerina Sybille Spalinger Figurine Model 1772
Located in Firenze, IT
Ballet Dancer. Rosenthal Selb Porcelain Manufactory. Model 1772 Porcelain figurine representing the ballet dancer Sybille Spalinger, made by the Rosenthal Art Department (Kunstabtei...
Category

Art Nouveau Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Ram
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Mark Morrison (1895-1964) Ram, ca. 1940 Carved diorite 9" long, 6" wide, height is 7.5" Rusty band on hind quarter is a naturally occurring iron ore occlusion in stone, which bot...
Category

Realist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Granite

Ram
Ram
$2,000 Sale Price
60% Off
'Blue Tone Tower': Modernist Vibrant Blues Cubist Sculpture by Bill Low
Located in Hudson, NY
Cubist style abstract mixed-media sculpture titled 'Blue Tone Tower' was created using various materials including wood, papier-mache, and paint by Bill Low ...
Category

Cubist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Wood, Paint, Paper

Portrait - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Terracotta sculture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his child...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Woman's Head, Decorated with Flowers, Ceramic by Pablo Picasso 1954
Located in Long Island City, NY
Pablo Picasso, considered the greatest artist of the 20th Century, was a master of all art mediums. He collaborated with Madoura to produce editions of his painted ceramic works beginning in the 1940’s...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Reclining Figure (woman)
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
William King (1925-2015). Reclining figure, ca. 1965. Cast and welded bronze, 7 x 9.5 x 5 inches. Unsigned. William King, a sculptor in a variety of materials whose human figures traced social attitudes through the last half of the 20th century, often poking sly and poignant fun at human follies and foibles, died on March 4 at his home in East Hampton, N.Y. He was 90. His death was confirmed by Scott Chaskey, who is married to Mr. King's stepdaughter, Megan Chaskey. Mr. King worked in clay, wood, bronze, vinyl, burlap and aluminum. He worked both big and small, from busts and toylike figures to large public art pieces depicting familiar human poses -- a seated, cross-legged man reading; a Western couple (he in a cowboy hat, she in a long dress) holding hands; a tall man reaching down to tug along a recalcitrant little boy; a crowd of robotic-looking men walking in lock step. But for all its variation, what unified his work was a wry observer's arched eyebrow, the pointed humor and witty rue of a fatalist. His figurative sculptures, often with long, spidery legs and an outlandishly skewed ratio of torso to appendages, use gestures and posture to suggest attitude and illustrate his own amusement with the unwieldiness of human physical equipment. His subjects included tennis players and gymnasts, dancers and musicians, and he managed to show appreciation of their physical gifts and comic delight at their contortions and costumery. His suit-wearing businessmen often appeared haughty or pompous; his other men could seem timid or perplexed or awkward. Oddly, or perhaps tellingly, he tended to depict women more reverentially, though in his portrayals of couples the fragility and tender comedy inherent in couplehood settled equally on both partners. Mr. King's work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, among other places, and he had dozens of solo gallery shows in New York and elsewhere. But the comic element of his work probably caused his reputation to suffer. Reviews of his exhibitions frequently began with the caveat that even though the work was funny, it was also serious, displaying superior technical skills, imaginative vision and the bolstering weight of a range of influences, from the ancient Etruscans to American folk art to 20th-century artists including Giacometti, Calder. and Elie Nadelman. The critic Hilton Kramer, one of Mr. King's most ardent advocates, wrote in a 1970 essay accompanying a New York gallery exhibit that he was, "among other things, an amusing artist, and nowadays this can, at times, be almost as much a liability as an asset." A "preoccupation with gesture is the focus of King's sculptural imagination," Mr. Kramer wrote. "Everything that one admires in his work - the virtuoso carving, the deft handling of a wide variety of materials, the shrewd observation and resourceful invention - all this is secondary to the concentration on gesture. The physical stance of the human animal as it negotiates the social arena, the unconscious gait that the body assumes in making its way in the social medium, the emotion traced by the course of a limb, a torso, a head, the features of a face, a coiffure or a costume - from a keen observation of these materials King has garnered a large stock of sculptural images notable for their wit, empathy, simplicity and psychological precision." William Dickey King...
Category

Abstract Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

The Fisherman
By Ugo Cipriani
Located in Los Angeles, CA
An impressive French Art Deco sculpture of a semi nude male holding a trident. Cast in patinated French spelter and sits on a marble base. We believe Bezin may be a pseudonym for ano...
Category

Art Deco Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Metal

Pablo Picasso 'Vase deux anses hautes' (A. R. 213) Madoura Vase 1953
Located in Miami, FL
PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) Vase deux anses hautes (A. R. 213) Terre de faïence vase, 1953, from the edition of 400, inscribed 'D'Après Picasso / Edition Picasso', partially glazed a...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Earthenware

Owl with Feathers - Original Ceramic Madoura - Ltd to 300 - Catalog Ramié #122
Located in Paris, IDF
Pablo Picasso Chouette aux plumes (Owl with Feathers) Original ceramic of Picasso made of white earthenware clay, partially engraved, with colored engobe and glaze. Annoted "Edition...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

1930 French Bronze Figure of a Lurcher Dog on Stone Base
Located in Beachwood, OH
Jules Edmond Masson (French, 1871–1932) Bronze Figure of a Lurcher Dog, 1930 Bronze with brownish green patination, on a fitted stone base The base inset with a bronze plaque reading...
Category

Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Stone, Bronze

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

Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

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 Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Huntress with Borzoi
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A stunning French Art Deco figural group depicting a Huntress and her Borzoi. The bronze has a beautiful warm patina and the base is two types of marble. It is signed on the base and...
Category

Art Deco Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Chateau des Oiseaux
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Jean Arp Château des Oiseaux Bronze Signed "Arp" Edition 5/5 Provenance: Sidney Janis Gallery, New York Conceived in 1963, cast in bronze in an edition of 5 between 1967 and 1969. J...
Category

Abstract Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Cockatoo
Located in PARIS, FR
Cockatoo Head turned to the right, with a raised and spread out crest by Edouard-Marcel SANDOZ (1881-1971) A bronze sculpture with a dark brown patina nuanced with green Signed on t...
Category

Art Deco Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Rattlesnake
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Mark Morrison (1895-1964) Rattlesnake , ca. 1950 Carved pink Texas granite 13.5" wide, 13" deep, height is 7" Repair and conservation to uppermost part of snake's body. Provena...
Category

Realist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Granite

Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
$3,000 Sale Price
70% Off
Large Brutalist Mirror with 144 Terracotta Tiles and Metal Frames - Ron Hitchins
Located in London, GB
Stunning original mirror made by the artist, with 144 uniquely handmade terracotta tiles. Signed by the artist in one of the tiles. This large, striking mirror has a great Brutalist and Modernist feel. Another slightly smaller mirror of the same style is available on our page. Year: unknown (Ron was active from the mid 1960s to the early 2000s) Colour: Tuscan red...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Metal

The Madonna of Port Lligat Sculpture
Located in Hollywood, FL
ARTIST: Salvador Dali TITLE: The Madonna of Port Lligat MEDIUM: Sculpture with Bronze Patina SIGNED: Engraved signature in the sculpture EDITION NUMBER: F 015/100 MEASUREMENTS...
Category

Surrealist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Panther sniffing
Located in PARIS, FR
Panther sniffing by Georges GUYOT (1885-1972) Rare sculpture in bronze with a nuanced dark brown patina Signed on the base " Guyot " Cast by " Susse Frères Editeurs Paris " (with the foundry mark) France circa 1935 height 33,5 cm length 49 cm depth 12 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

Art Deco Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Portrait of a Man
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Francisco Vazquez Diaz, known as Compostela (1898-1988). Portrait of a Man, 1949. Carved mahogany, measuring 18.75 inches h, 8.5 inches w, 11 in...
Category

Realist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Mahogany

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 Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Portrait - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Terracotta sculture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his child...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Vintage Life Size Zebra Model or Sculpture
Located in Palm Beach, FL
Rare and unusual life size sculpture of a zebra crafted in composition in a surprisingly realistic form and hand decorated with the iconic stripes now worn to perfection.
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Other Medium

Head - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted marble sculpture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his childhoo...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

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 Born in Cleveland, Ohio January 28, 1905, Edris was given the na...
Category

Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

The Dancer - Sculpture by Giacomo Manzù - 1957
Located in Roma, IT
The Dancer is a sculpture realized by Giacomo Manzù in 1957. Unique piece. Exhibitions:  Manzù. L’Uomo e l’Artista, Palazzo Venezia, Roma 2002-2003 Manzù-Marino. Gli ultimi moderni,...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Mid Century Sgraffito, Saltimbanque and the Card Player, Circle of Picasso.
Located in Cotignac, FR
Mid 20th Century sgraffito work on plaster by Jean Pierre de Cayeux. The work is signed and dated on the skirt of the card player, bottom right, and on the stretcher of the chair, bo...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Portrait - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Terracotta sculpture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his chil...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Bust of Jules Dalou
Located in PARIS, FR
Bust of the sculptor Jules Dalou by Auguste RODIN (1840-1917) A stunning bronze bust with a nuanced dark brownish green patina presented on a fine Belgian black marble base Signed o...
Category

French School Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Yoruba Ibeji triplets master sculptor.Abegunde of Ede tribal African Art Nigeria
Located in Norwich, GB
An extraordinary group of Ibeji "triplets" sculpted by the same master sculptor. Ibeji is name of a very specific type of carved wooden figure from Yoruba in Nigeria. Ibejis repre...
Category

Tribal Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Francisco Zuniga Bronze Sculpture, 1965, "Juchiteca Sentada"
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Francisco Zuniga bronze sculpture. Seated female. Edition: 5. #467 in the Zuniga catalog raisonne. Titled: "Juchiteca Sentada". Measures: 8 7/8" H x 10 1/4" L x 10 5/8" W (not including the 1 ½" wood plinth). Signed Zuniga and numbered 111/V. Created 1965. A Letter of Authenticity issued by the Zuniga foundation (and son Ariel Zuniga...
Category

Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

American Surrealist pipes and playing cards spirit of Magritte abstract Montage
Located in Norwich, GB
I love this extraordinary American surrealist piece - a collage/montage, an assembly of objects in a velvet-clad box/frame - for a number of reasons reasons. I love the fact that it depicts pipes, among the most iconic images of the surrealist movement, rooted in Magritte’s famous 1929 painting which depicts a pipe accompanied by the caption “Ceci n'est pas une pipe” (This is not a pipe). Marcel Duchamp loved using pipes...
Category

Surrealist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Clay, Glass, Paper, Found Objects, Wood

Deer battle
By Thomas Francois-Cartier
Located in Riga, LV
Deer battle France, bronze, marble, h 29.5 x 66.5 x 18 cm base size 64x20 cm
Category

Realist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Marble, Bronze

Duck - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Ceramic sculpture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his childho...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Untitled
Located in San Francisco, CA
Harry Bertoia (1915-1978) Untitled, 1960 welded and patinated phosphor bronze 11 1/2 x 16 x 13 1/2 in 29.2 x 40.6 x 34.3 cm
Category

Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Rare 1966 Original Bronze Sculpture "The Two Nikes" edition of 6 Salvador Dali
Located in Surfside, FL
Salvador Dali (1904-1989) – The Two Nikes, Lilith, The Double Victory of Samothrace, Homage to Raymond Roussel Literature: Descharnes, Robert, Salvador Dalí, and Nicolas Descharnes....
Category

Surrealist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Victor Salmones Father and Son
Located in San Francisco, CA
Victor Salmones. 1937-1989. Very well listed sculptor who lived in worked in Mexico. He said Auction results as high as $23,500. This powerful work measures 10 inches high by 6 inche...
Category

Realist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Bronze

Mid-Century Nude Male Acephale Sang de Boeuf Ceramic Sculpture with Marble Base.
By Franta (Frantisek Merte)
Located in Cotignac, FR
French Mid 20th Century ceramic figure of a man in Sang de Boeuf, oxblood red, glaze presented on a metal 'tige' and marble base. The sculpture is not signed but was purchased from ...
Category

Abstract Expressionist Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Marble

Portrait - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Terracotta sculpture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his chil...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Portrait - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Terracotta sculpture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his chil...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

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

Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Elephant - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Terracotta sculpture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his chil...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Portrait - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Painted Terracotta sculture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his child...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Terracotta

Head of Animal - Sculpture by Sirio Pellegrini - 1960s
Located in Roma, IT
Stone sculture realized by Sirio Pellegrini in 1960s. Hand carved. Very Good condition. Sirio Pellegrini, born in Rome on March 1, 1922, of Abruzzo origins (Capestrano), spent his...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Stone

Grande Tête De Femme Au Chapeau Orné (Woman’s Big Head with Decked Hat)
Located in Palo Alto, CA
Created in 1964, this red earthenware clay big rectangular plaque printed with engobe pad is #15 from the edition of 50. This work is stamped with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU’ and ‘EMPREINTE ORIGINALE DE PICASSO’ stamps on the reverse. Pablo Picasso Grande Tête De Femme Au Chapeau Orné (Woman’s Big Head with Decked Hat), 1964 A.R. 518 is a remarkable and beautiful work. It represents Picasso’s most important relationships at the time, namely his artistic partnership with the Ramiés and his romance with Jacqueline Roque. It is also notably one of two ceramic works Picasso has ever made of this scale. Picasso takes immense care in depicting this portrait of his greatest muse Jacqueline; its wonderful texture and delicate variations in line weight are testaments to the artist’s innate creative skill. Composed of a simple linear carved design in an earth tone clay plaque...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Pablo Picasso " Picador and Bull" Earthenware
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Pablo Picasso 1881-1973 (Spanish) Round-square plate “Picador and bull” Model created on September 25, 1953. Diameter 25 cm Original proof in white earthenware and oxidized pa...
Category

Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Enamel

Vintage Midcentury Demitasse Coffee Set Hans Achtziger for Hutschenreuther Selb
Located in East Quogue, NY
Pristine decorative white porcelain 'Apart' coffee demitasse set from Hutschenreuther Selb, with 6 cups, 6 saucers, coffee pot, creamer/milk jug, sugar bowl (15 piece set). Germain porcelain maker Hutschenreuther (est.1814) commissioned sculptor Hans Achtziger...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Panthers in the Jungle Art Deco Carved Gilt Wood Panel by N. R. Brunet
Located in Atlanta, GA
Engraved Art Deco Panther Panel by N.R. Brunet (20th Century, France) A striking and seldom-seen example of Art Deco artistry, this richly engraved wood panel by French sculptor N.R...
Category

Art Deco Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Wood

Tete de chevre de profil (Goats head in Profile) Unique color Variant, A.R. 154
Located in Palo Alto, CA
Created in 1952, Pablo Picasso Tete de chevre de profil (Goats head in Profile) Unique color Variant, 1952, A.R. 154 is an original white earthe...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic, Clay, Earthenware, Glaze

Bouc Trois Faces " Exemplaire d'Auteur "
Located in CANNES, FR
Jean Cocteau ( 1889 -1963 ) " Bouc Trois Faces " . circa 1958 . coupe 36cm Terre Blanche engobes : noir et fer rouge Tirage : 20 exemplaires Ref: R 306 page 76 du catalogue rais...
Category

Art Deco Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Brutalist Hand Forged Iron Mosaic Sculpture Menorah Israeli David Palombo
Located in Surfside, FL
Hand Forged Iron Stone Mosaic Hanukah Menorah Candelabra David Palombo was an Israeli sculptor and painter. He was born in Turkey to a traditional family and immigrated to the Land of Israel with his parents in 1923. They lived in the Nahalat Shiva neighborhood of Jerusalem. In 1940 he began his studies at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, and from 1942 was a student of sculptor Ze’ev Ben-Zvi. For a period of time, Palombo was an assistant at Ben-Zvi’s studio and also taught at Bezalel. During this period he was also a member of the “Histadrut HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed” (The General Federation of Students and Young Workers in Israel). In the 1940s he took art lessons at night. In 1948 he went to Paris, where he visited the studio of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi whose work influenced him. Around 1958 he married the artist Shulamit Sirota. In 1960 he quit his job to devote himself to art. In 1964 he married for the second time to the artist Yona Palombo. The two of them went to live in an abandoned home on Mount Zion in Jerusalem. In 1966 he was killed when the motorcycle on which he was riding ran into a chain stretched across the street to prevent the desecration of Shabbat. His widow opened a museum in their home that was active until the year 2000. Work by Palombo is included in the Judaic collection of the Jewish Museum (a well known Hanukkah menora). Palombo executed the impressive metal gates of the Tent of Remembrance at the Yad Vashem, the memorial to the martyrs of the holocaust, as well as the gates to the Knesset Building the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco award) awarded him a scholarship for study in Japan. He worked in marble, granite, bronze, iron and steel. as well as with glass mosaic tiles. Palombo’s early works, in the 1950s, were influenced by modernist sculptors such as Brancusi. These works were composed of abstract images from nature and were carved out of stone or wood. At the end of the 1950s he began making metal sculptors, using the technique of welding. His work took on a more abstract and expressive character. Education 1940 Painting with Isidor Ascheim, New Bezalel School for Arts and Crafts, Jerusalem 1942 Sculpture with Zeev Ben Zvi, Jerusalem 1956 Mosaic, Ravenna, Italy 1958 Welding Course Awards And Prizes 1966 UNESCO Award Exhibitions: Sculpture in Israel, 1948-1958 Mishkan Museum of Art, Kibbutz Ein Harod Artists: Zvi Aldouby, Yitzhak Danziger, Arieh Merzer, Dov Feigin, Aaron Priver, David Palumbo, Menashe Kadishman, Kosso Eloul, Yehiel Shemi, Zahara Schatz. The Spring Exhibition of Jerusalem Artists, Artists' House, Jerusalem Artists: Palombo, David Bezalel Schatz, Mordechai Levanon, Fima, Ludwig Blum 12 Artists, The Bezalel National Museum, Jerusalem Avraham Ofek, Aviva Uri, Avigdor Arikha, Yosl Bergner, Lea Nikel, Palombo, Ruth Zarfati...
Category

Arte Povera Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Stone, Iron

Pablo Picasso, Visage aux yeux rieurs (A.R. 608)
Located in Madrid, ES
PABLO PICASSO (1881-1973) Visage aux yeux rieurs (A.R. 608) stamped, marked and numbered 'Edition Picasso / Madoura Plein Feu / Edition Picasso ...
Category

Modern Mid-20th Century Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

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