Margaret Brassler Kane Explained
Margaret Brassler Kane (May 25, 1909 – April 10, 2006) was an American figurative sculptor known for her use of the direct-carving method.[1]
Brassler Kane was born to parents Hans and Mathilde Trumpler Brassler in East Orange, New Jersey, and moved with her parents to Brooklyn in 1918.[2] She attended Packer Collegiate Institute, Syracuse University, and the Art Students League of New York, as well as took lessons with John Hovannes. She won a number of prizes for her art during the 1940s. Many of her pieces depicted contemporary life and tackled current issues of the day, including socioeconomic injustice and war.[3] [4] Brassler Kane was married to Arthur Ferris Kane in June 1930.
One of Brassler Kane's best-known works is a group of large relief panels carved in limewood, each six by six feet: Symbols of Changing Man (1937–39), Earthbound (1950–57), and Micro-Macrocosm (1960–67). The panels depict the history of humanity, exploring themes of science, technology, industry, religion, and social conflict.[5] [6] However, until 2018, all of the panels had never been exhibited together. Blackout, which shows a family of refugees fleeing from war, was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1942 in a contemporary art show entitled "Artists for Victory."[7] Bread and Wine (1940) is a bronze work that contrasts impoverished figures on a Great Depression-era breadline with well-off bargoers mingling over cocktails. Harlem Dancers (1937), carved in Tennessee marble, is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[8]
Kane was a founding member of the Sculptors Guild.
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Valluzzo . Andrea . 1 November 2018 . Margaret Brassler Kane: 'About Time' sculptor gets her due . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231105185441/https://www.milfordmirror.com/arts-leisure/article/Margaret-Brassler-Kane-About-Time-sculptor-13860523.php . 5 November 2023 . 27 June 2022 . Milford Mirror . en-US.
- Book: Bennewitz, Kathelene Motes . Carved with Rasps and Chisels: The Sculpture of Margaret Brassler Kane (1909-2006) . The Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich . 2008 . Cos Cob, CT . 32–35 . en . 287028570.
- Web site: Artist - Margaret Brassler Kane . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240131192332/https://americanart.si.edu/artist/margaret-brassler-kane-6191 . 31 January 2024 . 20 June 2017 . Smithsonian American Art Museum.
- Web site: Fox . Sandra Diamond . 19 October 2018 . Darien Historical Society exhibits work by Margaret Brassler Kane . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231105185437/https://www.darientimes.com/news/community/article/Darien-Historical-Society-exhibits-work-by-14022423.php . 5 November 2023 . 27 June 2022 . . en-US.
- Book: Rubinstein . Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein . American Women Sculptors: A History of Women working in Three Dimensions . . 1990 . 978-0-8161-8732-4 . Boston . 299 . en . 20756128 . registration . Internet Archive.
- News: Zimmer . William . 6 February 2000 . Art Reviews; 'The Enduring Figure' . limited . live . https://archive.today/20240513-023317/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/06/nyregion/art-reviews-the-enduring-figure.html . 13 May 2024 . 27 June 2022 . . 9 . en-US . 0362-4331 . .
- Book: Nichols, Hobart . Hobart Nichols . Artists for Victory: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Art: Paintings, Sculpture, Prints . Taylor . Francis Henry . Francis Henry Taylor . . Sponsored by Artists for Victory, Inc. . 1942 . New York, NY . 27 . en . 1365884296 . 12 May 2024 . https://archive.today/20240513-024242/https://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15324coll10/id/152359 . 13 May 2024 . live . Thomas_J._Watson_Library.
- Web site: Artworks: Harlem Dancers by Margaret Brassler Kane . live . https://archive.today/20240513-030411/https://americanart.si.edu/artwork/harlem-dancers-33476 . 13 May 2024 . 20 June 2017 . Smithsonian Museum of American Art.
