Reuben Nakian
Reuben Nakian | |
---|---|
College Point, New York, U.S. | |
Died | December 4, 1986 Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. | (aged 89)
Nationality | American |
Known for | Sculpture |
Reuben Nakian (August 10, 1897,
extraction. His works' recurring themes are from Greek and Roman mythology. Noted works include Leda and the Swan, The Rape of Lucrece, Hecuba, and The Birth of Venus. He was also commissioned to create portraits of Roosevelt's cabinet in the 1930s.Biography
Early life
Reuben Nakian was born on August 10, 1897, in
Career
He met and befriended painters Arshile Gorky and Willem de Kooning in the 1930s and Marsden Hartley and Marcel Duchamp in the 1940s. Poet Frank O'Hara was the curator of a major Reuben Nakian retrospective at New York City's Museum of Modern Art in 1966 where the artist was also exhibited in 1930. In the exhibition's catalog, O'Hara noted:
"Nakian is unrepressed, un-neurotic, unabashed in his approach to sensuality, however tortuous his esthetic commitment, and whether his subject be death, bestiality, or Arcadian dalliance. This explicitness gives the "Nymph and Satyr" plaques a marvelous joy and ease, the "Europa" terra-cottas a voluptuous dignity, and the "Leda and the Swan" drawings an almost comic abandon. Unlike most sexually oriented images in modern art, from Auguste Rodin to Andy Warhol, one finds no guilt or masochism in a Nakian. It is outgoing and athletic even in its releases and defeats: the satyr, the bull, the swan, the goat are each circumvented or absorbed by the goddess of his choice in the most choice of circumstances, that of his own choosing, like the amorous "dying" of the Elizabethans or the Metamorphoses of Ovid."
Later, he became close friends with composer, musician and sound designer, Fred Weinberg, who said:
"Reuben and I became very close friends since we are (were) both in the arts, lived down the street from each other and worked on our music, and art in our Stamford, Ct. country studios. As a composer, I would make tapes of the music Reuben loved, especially Classical.. When I traveled for out of town recording sessions, I would leave my parrots, Paco and Lucy with Ruben. He loved those two parrots which he called "birdbrains". Reuben stated upon my seeing Lucy do her 'business" on one of Reuben's sculpture "Reclining Man" "Its good for the patina!.".(I have some great pics of Ruben and myself with the birds.) When I recorded with George Burns in my Stamford, Ct. studio, I introduced the two to each other, and the "Tuesday Club" began- Sort of a "secret society", where we would partake in a few drinks of Bombay Gin...Ok, more than a few.. (Ruben commented on the interesting label of Bombay Gin). One day, near his death, I found him lying on the grass in his backyard, facing the sky and then he winked, and told me "The Gods are going to call me soon". Upon Reubens death, I wrote and performed a classical piece written for Ruben called "Tribute" performed at The Stamford Library."
His work is in the collections of
Nakian taught at
Death
He died on December 4, 1986, in Stamford, Connecticut.
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-31. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park: Reuben Nakian". Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Search | Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery". Americanart.si.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "LACMA Collections Online". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ "Nassau County Museum of Art". Archived from the original on 2009-09-19. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ "University of Michigan Museum of Art: Browse (3)". Images.umdl.umich.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- ^ "Guilford College Art Gallery Collections Database, Reuben Nakian". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ [3][dead link]
- ^ "Reuben Nakian | Walker Art Center | Collections and Resources". Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
- ^ "International Paintings and Sculpture". Nga.gov.au. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- ^ "Reuben Nakian Online". Artcyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-05-30. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ O'Hara, Frank (1966). Nakian (PDF) (Monograph for Exhibition, June 20-Sept. 5, 1966). New York: The Museum of Modern Art, Distributed by Doubleday, Garden City, NY. p. 43.
- ^ "Class in good shape at Pratt". Daily News. New York. 17 May 1956. p. 4K. Retrieved 1 Apr 2021.
- ^ "History of the School". New York Studio School. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
Books
- Marika Herskovic, New York School Abstract Expressionists Artists Choice by Artists (New York School Press, 2000); ISBN 0-9677994-0-6. pp. 33, 38, 262-5