Louise Nevelson was an American artist born in the year 1899 in the city of Kiev, Russia. Her family emigrated to the United States in 1905 and as a child she grew up around Rockland, Maine. The United States Postal Service produced a commemorative stamp featuring the artist in 2000 which is below. Louise Nevelson was most famous for her very large sized works made with wood. These works look like three dimensional puzzles. Some mediums used other than wood by Louise Nevelson include aluminum, metal, and plastic.
Nevelson’s father own a lumberyard when the family lived in Russia. When the family came to the States her father also would run a lumberyard and was made several successful real estate investments.
In this clip we view some of Louise Nevelson’s sculpture works:
She was married briefly to the owner of a shipping company. The couple divorced but had one child. The child’s name was Myron or “Mike” Nevelson who would go on to be a professional artist. As an artist Mike Nevelson focused on modernism and abstraction. I love this families of artists! Below some examples of Mike Nevelson’s style of art (born in 1922.)
For her artistic education Nevelson enrolled at Hans Hoffman’s School of Art located in Munich, Germany. In later years Nevelson studied the art off etching and printmaking with Stanley William Hayter. Hayter was an educator and world renown printmaker and below an example of his art. Nevelson also enrolled at the famed Art Student’s League of New York City.
Nevelson worked as an assistant to famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He also worked for the WPA as a teacher.
Nevelson was a participant in the Venice Biennale.
Her first solo exhibition was in 1941, whilst in her early 40s.
Louise Nevelson passed away in 1989.
In this clip we visit a show featuring Louise Nevelson that took place in Rome, Italy:
Louise Nevelson was also known for her unique and flamboyant style of dress. Often the artist would black mink eyelashes, silk scarves, and a black cap.
Louise was grandmother to another artist profiled here already, Neith Nevelson. What a creative family!
Its just amazing to see how many multiple generations of artist families exist worldwide. Myron worked with wood, but loved working with the figure.
Price range information: Works in graphite, monoprints, and etchings can be found starting at $3,000 up to larger sized paintings reaching as a high as $400,000. Many works in wood range from $10,000 to the low six figures.
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