Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980), Desha
Hammer Price w/ BP
$11,100
| Lot #: 90 Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980), Desha |
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Bronze with brown patina on a marble base. Inscribed '©/1927/HARRIET FRISHMUTH' and 'GORHAM CO FOUNDERS/OFSK' (along the base). Literature: C.N. Aronson, Sculptured Hyacinths, New York, 1973, pp. 47-49, 174, 179, 213, illustration of another example. The Gorham Company, Bronze Division, Famous Small Bronzes, New York, 1928, pp. 106-107. Catalog Note: Desha Delteil (nee Podgorska, 1900-1980) was the artist's most frequently used model. Arriving in America from Yugoslavia in 1914, Delteil danced with Michel Fokine's dance company. Delteil and Frishmuth were introduced in 1916 through Frances Grimes, a fellow sculptor who had used the dancer as a model. The lively pose exhibited here is typical of Desha's exuberance and talent as a dancer. |
| Ht. 14 1/4 in. |
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Condition Marble corners have been rounded. |
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Auction Date Sep 29, 2023 |
Details:
Harriet Whitney Frishmuth was an American sculptor known for her works in bronze. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Her parents divorced when she was in her teens, and she moved to Europe with her mother and sisters, living there for eight years. She studied briefly with Auguste Rodin at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and for two years with Cuno von Uechtritz-Steinkirch in Berlin. She returned to the United States and studied at the Art Students League of New York under Gutzon Borglum and Hermon Atkins MacNeil. While in New York, she worked as an assistant to the sculptor Karl Bitter and performed dissections at the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Frishmuth scorned modern art and was outspoken on the subject, calling it "spiritless" (she was equally outspoken in her dislike of the word "sculptress"). She received several recognitions and honors over the course of her career: the St. Gaudens Medal from the Art Students League of New York (while still a student), several awards from the National Academy of Design, a prize from the Grand Central Art Galleries, an honorable mention from the Golden Gate International Exposition, and the Joan of Arc Silver Medal from the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. She was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1925 as an Associate member and became a full Academician in 1929. Her work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Her work was exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, the Salon in Paris, the Golden Gate International Exposition (1939–1940) and the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. She also exhibited with the Philadelphia Ten, the renowned group of women artists. She had a studio at Sniffen Court in New York City. One of her last exhibitions was in 1929, though she remained active in the art world for decades afterwards. The Great Depression affected her livelihood; she closed her New York studio in the 1930s and returned to Philadelphia. She died in 1980 in Waterbury, Connecticut.
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