A sculptor, painter, ceramicist and furniture and lighting designer, Isamu Noguchi was one of the most prolific and protean creative forces of the 20th century and a key figure in the development of organic modernism. Noguchi’s sculptures and designs — his chairs and tables as well as his timeless Akari lamp and other lighting fixtures — share a common spirit: one of lyrical abstraction, tempo and flow and harmonious balance.
Noguchi was born in Los Angeles to an American mother and Japanese father, and spent most of his childhood in Japan. He returned to the United States at age 13, went to high school in Indiana and enrolled at Columbia University to study medicine. At the same time, he took night courses in sculpture.
Within three months, Noguchi left college to pursue art full time. Noguchi was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1927 and traveled to Paris to work under Constantin Brancusi. It marked a turning point. Inspired by Brancusi, Noguchi embraced abstraction and began to sculpt in the expressive, rhythmic style that would be the hallmark of his work.
Once back in New York, Noguchi was introduced to design by what would become a lifelong collaboration creating sets for choreographer Martha Graham. His first industrial designs were in Bakelite: the sleek Measured Time kitchen timer created circa 1932, and his famed Zenith Radio Nurse intercom, from 1937.
Ten years later, Herman Miller introduced Noguchi’s now-iconic glass-topped coffee table with an articulated wooden base. His washi paper and bamboo Akari light sculptures, handmade in Japan, debuted in 1951. In the late 1950s, Noguchi designed for Knoll, creating such pieces as his dynamic Cyclone table and rocking stool.
For collectors, Noguchi’s furniture and lighting designs remain his most accessible work — they have the same power and presence that Noguchi brought to his art.
Find vintage Isamu Noguchi floor lamps, table lamps, coffee tables and other furniture on 1stDibs.
$5,800
RARE Art Card: The Cry, 1957 (Hand Signed and inscribed by Isamu Noguchi) Framed
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in New York, NY
This is an extraordinarily rare hand signed card of a modern master -- we likely won't see the likes of this again. Framed and ready to hang. Makes a great gift. Isamu Noguchi Offs...
Postcard
Price Upon Request
Nuska, Portrait of a Girl, unique bronze portrait by Isamu Noguchi 1924
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Santa Fe, NM
Nuska, Portrait of a Girl, bronze portrait, 1924, unique Isamu Noguchi (Japanese American 1904 - 1988); "Nuska, The Deaf Girl"; cire perdu cast bronze with complex dark patina on bronze base; 15 x lOx 8 inches; base 4.5 x 5.75 x 5,75 inches; signature quilled under and at back - "Isamu"; foundry stamp quilled in wax at the back - "Roman Bronze Works N.Y." Excellent condition. "Nuska, The Deaf Girl" is included in the Catalogue Raisonne of Noguchi's sculpture by Nancy Grove and Dianne Botnick (Garland, 1980) as Number 21. It is currently listed in the digital catalogue being assembled by the Isamu Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, New York as Number 10. This is apparently a unique casting, not part of an edition. This is an apparently early, cire perdu bronze cast by Roman Bronze Works, probably when the foundry was located in the Louis Comfort Tiffany red...
Bronze
Marc Chagall - Cover - Original Lithograph
By Marc Chagall
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Marc Chagall - Cover - Original Lithograph 1964 Dimensions: 30 x 20 cm Edition of 200 (one of the 200 on Vélin de Rives) Mourlot Press, 1964 Marc Chagall (born in 1887) Marc Chaga...
Lithograph
$822
H 11.82 in W 7.88 in D 0.04 in
Joan Miro - Abstract Composition - Original Lithograph
By Joan Miró
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Joan Miro - Abstract Composition - Original Lithograph 1964 Dimensions: 30 x 20 cm Edition of 200 (one of the 200 on Vélin de Rives) Mourlot Press, 1964 Biography Joan Miró i Ferr...
Lithograph
$1,706
H 11.82 in W 7.88 in D 0.04 in
Alexander Calder - Rocks and Sun - Original Lithograph
By Alexander Calder
Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH
Alexander Calder - Rocks and Sun - Original Lithograph From the literary review "XXe Siècle" 1952 Dimensions: 32 x 24 cm Publisher: G. di San Lazzaro. Unsigned and unnumbered as issued
Lithograph
$245Sale Price|50% Off
H 10 in W 7.325 in
Untitled Composition (Poligrafa, Redfern, Abstract, Pintura Matérica, 50% OFF)
By Antoni Tàpies
Located in Kansas City, MO
Antoni Tapies Untitled Composition from "Ediciones Poligrafa, Barcelona at Redfern Gallery, London" Original Color Lithograph Year: 1979 Edition: 1000 Size: 10 x 7.325 inches (25.4 ...
Lithograph
$79,000
H 60 in W 20 in D 38 in
Pas Seul 3/9 - figurative, female, bronze, outdoor sculpture
By Frances Semple 1
Located in Bloomfield, ON
Using simplified shapes, artist Frances Semple reveals the emotive essence of movement in this bronze sculpture of a walking woman. At 60 inches high, the figure is life-size. The sculpture is inscribed by the artist with initials and edition number, 3/9. The concrete base measures 12h x 24w x 42d inches. Together, the sculpture and base...
Bronze
Modern Pair of Oriental Numbered and Signed Etching
Located in Roma, IT
1970s Pair of black and white important numbered and signed etching. Japan 1973. Every item of our Gallery, upon request, is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by S...
Paper, Lithograph
$1,506Sale Price|20% Off
H 27.56 in W 27.56 in D 1.19 in
1980s Signed Mario Schifano Artwork on Paper
By Mario Schifano
Located in Roma, IT
Materic silkscreen print “Ondate di gelo” (Frost Waves) by Mario Schifano. Signature and numbering in pencil on front side. Dry stamp of the artist on front. Edition F.C. (Not for...
Paper
$3,232
H 11.03 in W 5.91 in D 3.94 in
Modern Dancer I by Yann Guillon - Ballerina, female figure, bronze sculpture
By Yann Guillon
Located in Paris, FR
Modern dancer I is a bronze sculpture by contemporary artist Yann Guillon, dimensions are 28 × 15 × 10 cm (11 × 5.9 × 3.9 in). Height of the sculpture with the metal base: 48 cm (18....
Bronze
$10,577
H 29.53 in W 14.57 in D 7.88 in
Walking Hare by Cécile Raynal - Fantasy Animal, Bronze Sculpture
By Cécile Raynal
Located in Paris, FR
Walking Hare is a bronze sculpture by French contemporary artist Cécile Raynal, dimensions are 75 × 37 × 20 cm (29.5 × 14.6 × 7.9 in). The sculpture is signed and numbered, it is pa...
Bronze
Spirale Nebula
By Alexander Calder
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this large color lithograph on Arches. Signed and numbered 94/100 in pencil by Calder. Printed and published by Mourlot, Paris.
Color, Lithograph
$175Sale Price|36% Off
H 16.75 in W 12.75 in D 1 in
Untitled Composition II (Gestural Abstraction, Lyrical, Tachisme, Expressionism)
By Otto Greis
Located in Kansas City, MO
Otto Greis Untitled Composition II Original Silkscreen on Fine Vellum Year: 1960 Sheet Size: 7.6 × 5.625 inches (19.30 × 14.29 cm) Mat Size: 10.6 × 8.125 inches (26.92 × 20.64 cm) Fr...
Vellum, Screen
Pair of Elegant Gilt Bronze Sculptures of Dogs
Located in Rome, IT
Fine pair of gilt bronze dog sculptures. The item will be well-suited to either an indoor or outdoor setting.
Bronze
Sold
H 11.03 in W 8.67 in D 0.04 in
Letters by Isamu Noguchi and the Countess Anna Letitia Pecci-Blunt - 1948/49
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in Roma, IT
Lot of Autographs is a beautiful correspondence between Isamu Noguchi and the Countess Anna Letitia Pecci-Blunt, written 1948-49, in English, composed of three autograph letters sign...
Paper, Ink
Black and Blue
By Isamu Noguchi
Located in New York, NY
Painted aluminum in two parts, edition of 18, special proof Art © 2013 Estate of Isamu Noguchi / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York