1950s Figurative Sculptures

Pablo Picasso Bull (Taureau), 1952 Original ceramic of Pablo Picasso, white faience earth, enamel and oxidized paraffin decoration Annotated on the Back : Empreinte originale Picass...

Pablo Picasso Flute Player and Goat, 1956 Original ceramic of Pablo Picasso, white faience earth, enamel and oxidized paraffin decoration Annotated on the Back : Empreinte originale...

Pablo Picasso Bird with Worm, 1952 Original ceramic of Pablo Picasso, white faience earth, enamel and oxidized paraffin decoration Annotated on the Back : Empreinte originale Picass...

Pablo Picasso At the Sea, Beach Scene : Bathers, 1956 Original ceramic of Pablo Picasso, white faience earth, black covered bath and enamel Annotated on the Back : Empreinte origina...

Waylande Gregory (1905-1971). Nude Reclining, ca. 1950's. Painted composite cast from original sculpted in 1930's. Casting sanctioned and approved by the artist during his lifetime in partnership with MPI, Museum Pieces Incorporated. Very few examples were produced and even fewer survive. 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, and his Burlesque Dancer. 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. 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...

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...

Cruchon Hibou 1955 Ed. 500 pcs White clay with blue, black and brown engobe painting, glazed with knife engraving H. 27.2 cm Inscribed and stamped underside : Edition Picasso, D'aprè...

Pablo Picasso Tall Dish witth Goat Head, 1952 Original ceramic of Pablo Picasso, white faience earth and enamel Stamp on the Back : Empreinte originale Picasso - Madoura Plein Feu L...

Picador, Pablo Picasso, Ashtray, Design, Sculpture, Ceramic, White, Edition Picador Ed. 500 pcs 1952 White earthenware clay, oxidized paraffin decoration, white enamel D. 15.2 cm St...

Pablo Picasso Corrida with Spectators, 1950 Original ceramic of Pablo Picasso, white faience earth and enamel Stamp on the Back : Empreinte originale Picasso - Madoura Plein Feu Lim...

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...

Chope Visage, Picasso, Pitcher, Edition, 1950's, Design, earthenware, Figurative Chope Visage Ed. 300 pcs 1959 Earthenware clay, decoration in engobes, g...

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,...

Faune aux marottes, Picasso, 1950's, Earthenware, Unique work, 1950's, Design Faune aux marottes Unique work 1.12.1956 Earthenware, decoration with engobes and metallic oxides 15.1 ...

Leonard Baskin, American 1922-2000 Homage to the Un-American Activities Committee Bronze relief sculpture plaque This is not editioned, nor signed or numbered, on the piece but according to the catalog there was 12 or less. A number of these are in museum and university art collections and one of them was exhibited at MoMA NY. This was done to commemorate the communist witch hunts of the Mccarthy era. An important, historic piece. Leonard Baskin (August 15, 1922 – June 3, 2000) was an American sculptor, illustrator, wood-engraver, printmaker, graphic artist, writer and teacher. Baskin was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey. While he was a student at Yale University, he founded Gehenna Press, a small private press specializing in fine, small edition, book production. From 1953 until 1974, he taught printmaking and sculpture at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Subsequently Baskin also taught at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. He lived most of his life in the U.S., but spent nine years in Devon at Lurley Manor, Lurley, near Tiverton, close to his friend Ted Hughes, for whom he illustrated Crow. Sylvia Plath dedicated Sculpto to Leonard Baskin in her famous work, The Colossus and Other Poems (1960). The Funeral Cortege (1997) bronze, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, Washington, D.C. His public commissions include a bas relief for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and a bronze statue of a seated figure, erected in 1994 for the Holocaust Memorial in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His works are owned by many major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the British Museum, the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Udinotti Museum of Figurative Art and the Vatican Museums. The archive of his signed work at the Gehenna Press was acquired by the Bodleian Library at Oxford, England, in 2009. The McMaster Museum of Art in Hamilton, Ontario owns over 200 of his works (some religious and biblical), most of which were donated by his brother Rabbi Bernard Baskin. Contemporary Religious Imagery in American Art. Catalog for an exhibition held at the Ringling Museum of Art, March 1-31, 1974. Artists represented: David Aronson, Leonard Baskin, Max Beckmann, Hyman Bloom, Fernando Botero, Paul Cadmus, Marvin Cherney, Arthur G. Dove, Philip Evergood, Adolph Gottlieb, Jonah Kinigstein, Arman, Rico Lebrun, Jack Levine, Louise Nevelson, Barnett Newman, Abraham Rattner, Ben Shahn, Mark Tobey, Max Weber, William Zorach and others.In 1955, he was one of eleven New York artists featured in the opening exhibition at the Terrain Gallery, they showed many great artists, Chaim Koppelman, for many years, headed the gallery's Print Division; printmakers such as Will Barnet, Leonard Baskin, Robert Conover...

Large Scale Mahogany Wood Relief Sculpture of Prometheus, The Giver of Fire In the Style of WPA artist Peterpaul Ott Wonderfully executed wood r...

Created in 1975, this madoura turned round dish of red earthenware clay, engobe decoration in black and knife engraving is from the edition of 200 and stamped with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and 'EDITION PICASSO' pottery stamps on the back. Pablo Picasso ceramic Hibou aux ailes déployées (Owl with spread wings), 1957 A.R. 397 features a smiling owl with wings opening above its head. The owl sits on a thin branch that spans the lower length of the plate, extending the scene beyond the bounds of the ceramic. Beautiful, bushy feathers fan out. Picasso uses...

Created in 1953, ceramic Picador A.R. 200 is a round plate of white earthenware clay with oxidized paraffin decoration (brown, green, white) in a stanniferous enamel bath...

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...

Scène de tauromachie, Picasso, 1950's, edition, earthenware, terracotta, scene Scène de tauromachie Ed.274/500 pcs 1957 Red earthenware clay, eng...

Jean Cocteau ( 1889 -1963 ) Vé : (& Astrology ) ( Blue variant ) . 1958 . 4éme variante : terre incrustée blanche et bleue Size : 7 cm . Signed underneath . Astrology : Pendentif ...

Jean Cocteau ( 1889 - 1963 ) Vé and Astrology ceramic's pendant : Vé : signed underneath White 1ere variant ( Terre blanche en relief ). page 212 Size: 7 x5.5 cm catalogue rai...

This piece is an A.R. turned pitcher created by Pablo Picasso in 1953. It is made with white earthenware clay, decoration in engobes and oxides under partial brushed glaze with white...

Pichet Têtes, by Picasso, Pitcher, 1950's, Edition, Black and white, Design Pichet Têtes Ed. 500 pcs 1956 White earthenware, decoration with oxidized par...

Tête Solaire, Pablo Picasso, Unique Ceramic, 1950's, Earthenware, Design, Tile Tête solaire II Unique work 27.01.1956 Large white earthenware tile, green stripes on white enamel on ...

JEAN COCTEAU (1889 - 1963 ) " Visage " signed : " jean Cocteau "( lower left ) inscribed and numbered 6/30 édition originale de jean Cocteau . Atelier Madeline -Jolly ( undern...

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...

Face, Pablo Picasso, 1950's, Earthenware, Decorative Art, Design, Interior, Ed. 500 pcs 1955 White earthenware clay, decoration in engobe, glaze inside Inscribed and stamped on the...

Paul Dierkes (1907 Cloppenburg - 1968 Berlin), Vegetative Form. Mahogany, 1958. 142 x 16 x 10 cm (sculpture), 21 x 17.5 cm (base), monogrammed "PD" on the reverse. - Grown Art - ...

Henry Moore (1898-1986) Mother and Child: Petal Skirt conceived in 1955; cast in 1955 bronze; edition 4 of 6 plus 1 artist’s proof by the Fiorini foundry, London 19 x 9 x 15.5 cm (in...

Created in 1959, Pablo Picasso (Málaga, 1881 – Mougins, 1973) Paseo A.R. 416 is numbered from the edition of 50 on the reverse and stamped with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and ‘EMPREINTE ORIGINALE DE PICASSO' pottery stamps on the reverse. Pablo Picasso was an avid fan of bullfighting his entire life, attending his first corridas when he was a child in Spain and gaining a renewed interest in the events when he settled in the South of France after World War II. Undoubtedly the theatrical drama and flashy machismo of the matadors appealed greatly to Picasso's sensibilities and resonated with his Spanish roots. In 1959, Picasso produced an 8-piece plate series, each featuring a different bullfighting scene suggested through lively stipple lines. Paseo A.R. 416 depicts a line of bullfighters highlighted by a streak of yellow. The strokes of blue above and below the figures contrast with the warm of the yellow, creating visual tension that anticipates the drama of the fight. Catalogue Raisonné & COA: Pablo Picasso Paseo...

Presenting a monumental original wood assemblage sculpture by American artist Maxine Kim Stussy(1923 - 2020) "Metropolis", is an original unique wood assemblage using solid wood mac...

Lohman studied at John Herron Art Institute, and Cranbrook and Yale for graduate work. Assisted Carl Milles at Cranbrook Academy before becoming Director of Fine Arts there from 1947...

Bear paws in glazed and cracked ceramic PIED FUMEUR BY MATHIEU MATEGOT
 Lacquered metal and rattan base 7 x 18 x 18 cm (Paw) 55 x 32 x 30 cm (Smoking Foot) 63 x 32 cm (Set)

Young Wood Owl, Pablo Picasso, 1950's, Multiples, Design, Postwar, Pitcher Young wood-owl Ed. 500 pcs 1952 White earthenware clay, partly polychromed and glazed 26.5 x 9.5 cm Stampe...

Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) céramiques originales de Jean Cocteau . Pendentifs : "Chèvre-pied " 1958. pendentif ovale (9cm x7cm) . variante terre blanche en relief. " double masque " 1...

Oiseau à la Huppe, Picasso, ashtray, design, ceramic, animals, art, postwar Oiseau à la huppe Ed. 500 pcs 1952 White earthenware clay, oxidized paraffin decoration, white enamel, bl...

Il bronzo raffigura un fantino e nel 1957 venne esposto alle personali dell'artista alla Strozzina di Firenze e alla Galleria Cocchini di Livorno. Esiste anche un disegno preparator...

This Wabi Sabi Daisy Duck sculpture, carved from a single piece of wood, offers a charming and unrefined representation that reflects the straightforward creativity of its time, like...

Numbered and limited to 8 copies Artwork signed Authenticity: Sold with certificate of Authenticity Invoice from the gallery Sculpture: bronze, metal, bronze patina Display: The s...

This carving is of a large head with three horns. This piece is made of wood and skin by the Ekoi people of Nigeria. Ekoi people, also known as Ejagham, are an ethnic group in the ex...

Numbered and limited to 8 copies Artwork signed Authenticity: Sold with certificate of Authenticity Invoice from the gallery Sculpture: bronze, metal, bronze patina Display: The sc...

A wonderful pair of patinated iron egret bird wall sculptures, one reaching for the sky and one focused forward, each signed on the weighted bases “Maxfield Parrish Jr, March 1956”. ...

Visage Solaire, Picasso, Unique work, Design, 1950's, Sun face, Ceramic Visage Solaire Unique work 27.01.1956 Painted and partially glazed ceramic 20.4 x 20.4 cm Dated and stamped o...

Jean Cocteau ( 1889 - 1963 ) " Bélier aux cornes jaunes " vase cylindrique . Hauteur 24cm Année 1958 . ouverture 11 cm . Tirage à 15 exemplaires N° 13 / 15 . signé Jean Coc...

Created in 1959, Pablo Picasso (Málaga, 1881 – Mougins, 1973) Paseo A.R. 416 and Arrastro A.R. 423 are numbered from the edition of 50 on the reverse and stamped with the 'MADOURA PLEIN FEU' and ‘EMPREINTE ORIGINALE DE PICASSO' pottery stamps on the reverse. Pablo Picasso was an avid fan of bullfighting his entire life, attending his first corridas when he was a child in Spain and gaining a renewed interest in the events when he settled in the South of France after World War II. Undoubtedly the theatrical drama and flashy machismo of the matadors appealed greatly to Picasso's sensibilities and resonated with his Spanish roots. In 1959, Picasso produced an 8-piece plate series, each featuring a different bullfighting scene suggested through lively stipple lines. Paseo A.R. 416 depicts a line of bullfighters highlighted by a streak of yellow. The strokes of blue above and below the figures contrast with the warm of the yellow, creating visual tension that anticipates the drama of the fight. Arrastro, from Service Scènes de Corrida, 1959 A.R. 423 features a victorious  bullfighter holding his curved sword, known as an estqoue, over his head. The dark atmosphere created by the deep blue, black, and touch of brown is slashed by the intense yellow down the center of the plate. This shock of bright color evokes the excitement of the bullfighter as he stands triumphant over the bull. Catalogue Raisonné & COA: Pablo Picasso Paseo...

Profil de Jacqueline, Pablo Picasso, Edition, 1950's, Monochrome, Design, Plat Profil de Jacqueline Ed. 100 pcs 22.01.1956 White earthenware clay D. 42 cm Stamped on the back: Empre...

Chouette, Picasso, Pitcher, Design, 1950's, Ceramic, Black and white, Animal Chouette femme Ed. 500 pcs 1951 Earthenware ceramic vase with engobe and ...

Tête de Faune, Pablo Picasso, Unique piece, Design, Terracotta, Tile, Mythology Tête de faune Unique work 08.08.1956 Painted and glazed terracotta tile...

Scène de Tauromachie, Pablo Picasso, 1957, Plate, Ceramic, Design, Postwar, Toro Scène de tauromachie Ed. 500 pcs 1957 Red earthenware clay, engobe decoration, knife engraved D.24 c...

Marc Chagall Untitled (Roi David), 1954 is a rare and imaginative culmination of the collaboration between Marc Chagall and the Fucina degli Angeli. This work is from the beginning of Chagall’s usage of Murano glass as a means of expression. In 1954, Chagall was invited into the Fucina degli Angeli by Egidio Costantini who was the master glass blower at the time. This stunning and mesmeric sculpture beckons the eyes through the use of vivid, bold colors that blend seamlessly together. Blue, purple, teal and hints of red coalesce in the center of the glass plate, creating the backdrop for a whimsical scene placed in the foreground. A man in a crown kneels in the center of the work, preoccupied with the string instrument delicately constructed in his hands. Gilded flecks of gold are highlighted around the crown and instrument, showing us the depth of the lyrical poet. The transparent glass allows us to follow suite of the man, becoming entranced and lost in thought. Created in 1954 in the Fucina degli Angeli in Venice, Italy, this Murano glass sculpture was realized by master glass artist Egidio Costantini (Brindisi, 1912- Venice, 1998) in collaboration Marc Chagall, (Vitebsk, 1887 – Saint-Paul, 1985). This work is inscribed ‘M. Chagall E. Costantini 1954 © Fucina degli Angeli’ on verso and is an artist proof. Catalogue Raisonné: Marc Chagall Untitled (Roi David), 1954 is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the sale of the work). Egidio Costantini: Il Maestro dei Maestri. Brussels: Espace Kiron and Espace Medicis, 1990. A different Chagall glass...

Pablo Picasso Bird with a Crest, 1952 Original ceramic of Pablo Picasso, white faience earth, enamel and oxidized paraffin decoration Annotated on the Back : Empreinte originale Pic...

Taureau et Toreador, Picasso, Bull, Corrida, Design, Tile, Ceramic, 1950's Taureau et Toreador Unique work 11.2.1957 Painted and partially glazed ceramic, hexagonal tomette tile 15 ...

Danseurs et Joueur de Diaule (Dancers and Diaulos Player), A.R. 341 can be compared to several other white earthenware pieces created by Picasso in 1956. Each depicts the carefree imagery of dancers, musicians, and fauns to which the artist returns time and again. Framed under a sloping mountain, two figures dance with arms raised above their heads, hands clasped in a spontaneous gesture. Leafy trees and flowers mark...

Joueur de flûte, Picasso, Limited Edition, Sculpture, Design, 1950's, Ceramic Joueur de flûte Ed. 40 pcs 1951 Earthenware clay covered with enamel D. 24.5 cm Stamped on the back : M...

Partially glazed terre-de-faïence convex wall plaque painted in black and white, 1956. Edition of 450. With the Madoura Plein Feu and Empreinte Originale de Picasso stamps, verso. ...

Picador, by Pablo Picasso, 1950's, Bowl, Sculpture, Design, Edition, Earthenware Picador Ed. 500 pcs 1955 White earthenware clay, decoration in engobes and paraffin, white enamel 12...

Numbered and limited to 12 copies ( 8 + 4 P.A) Artwork signed Authenticity: Sold with certificate of Authenticity Invoice from the gallery Sculpture: bronze, metal, bronze patina ...

Inscribed on base, 'W.G.' for Wedo Georgetti (American, 1911-2005) and created circa 1950. Acquired directly from the artist and accompanied by certificate of authenticity. Born in ...

We are proud to present a lifetime masterpiece by American artist Maxine Kim Stussy. “Maxumus: Circus Horse”, is an original wood assemblage of both ha...