Margaret Brassler Kane

Margaret Brassler Kane (May 25, 1909 – April 10, 2006) was an American figurative sculptor known for her use of the direct-carving method.[1][2]

Margaret Brassler Kane
Brassler Kane working in 1939
Born(1909-05-25)May 25, 1909
East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedApril 10, 2006(2006-04-10) (aged 96)
Cos Cob, Connecticut, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
StyleFigurative art, sculpture

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.[3] She attended Packer Collegiate Institute, Syracuse University, and the Art Students League of New York, as well as took lessons with John Hovannes.[3] 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.[4][5] Brassler Kane was married to Arthur Ferris Kane in June 1930.[3][5]

One of Brassler Kane's best known works is a group of large relief panels carved in limewood, each six-by-six foot: Symbols of Changing Man (1937-39), Earthbound (1950-57), and Micro-Macrocosm (1960-67).[3] The panels depict the history of humanity, exploring themes of science, technology, industry, religion, and social conflict.[1][2][6] However, until 2018, all of the panels had never been exhibited together.[2] Blackout, which shows an 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.[6][5] Harlem Dancers (1937), carved in Tennessee marble, is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[8]

Brassler Kane was a founding member of the Sculptors Guild.[5]

References
  1. Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein (1990). American women sculptors: a history of women working in three dimensions. G.K. Hall. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-8161-8732-4.
  2. Valluzzo, Andrea (2018-11-01). "Margaret Brassler Kane: 'About Time' sculptor gets her due". Milford Mirror. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  3. Bennewitz, Kathelene Motes, curator. (2008). Carved with Rasps and Chisels: The Sculpture of Margaret Brassler Kane (1909-2006). Cos Cob, CT: Bush-Holley Historic Site, the Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich. pp. 32–35. OCLC 287028570.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. "Margaret Brassler Kane". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  5. Fox, Sandra Diamond (2018-10-19). "Darien Historical Society exhibits work by Margaret Brassler Kane". Darien Times. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  6. Zimmer, William (2000-02-06). "ART REVIEWS; 'The Enduring Figure'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-06-27.
  7. Artists for victory : an exhibition of contemporary American art : paintings, sculpture, prints / sponsored by Artists for Victory, Inc. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1942. p. 27.
  8. "Harlem Dancers by Margaret Brassler Kane". Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Retrieved 20 June 2017.

References


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