Dawn to Dusk
Louise Nevelson (Ukraine, 1893-1983). The Endless Column, 1969, 1985. Wood and found objects painted black, center: 128 1/8 x 59 1/16 x 11 3/16, left: 109 7/8 x 22 x 9 1/8, right: 114 13/16 x 21 1/2 x 5 1/4 in. Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine. Bequest of Nathan Berliawsky, 1980.35.30 © 2023 Estate of Louise Nevelson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Upcoming exhibition
February 13 – July 11, 2027
Located on the first floor of The Baker Museum
Louise Nevelson: Dawn to Dusk traces the artist’s formative years to her emergence as a sculptor of international renown. The survey begins with her early studies at the Art Students League in New York and with Hans Hofmann in Munich, Germany, in 1931. It continues with her mature works in found and assembled wood, which established her as the “grande dame of contemporary sculpture.”
Between 1981 and 1985, Louise Nevelson donated 56 examples of her art to the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine. As a part of her 1985 gift, Nevelson donated a collection of jewelry she created for her own use. In keeping with her dramatic personal style and mode of dress, these unique pieces are each a complex small sculpture.
Spanning her career from 1929 to 1985, the exhibition includes early paintings and figurative sculptures in terra-cotta and bronze, later painted wood constructions and collages, cast paper reliefs, theater design work and examples of her unique handcrafted jewelry.
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Selected Works
Louise Nevelson (Ukraine, 1893-1983). Installation view: Orfeo: Throne I, Throne II, Two Banners, 1984. Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum. Gift of Louise Nevelson, 1985.23.29-31b © 2023 Farnsworth Art Museum
Louise Nevelson (Ukraine, 1893-1983). Martha Graham, c. 1950. Cast bronze with patina, 10 × 19 × 11 in. Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine. Gift of Louise Nevelson, 1984.23.8 © 2023 Estate of Louise Nevelson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Louise Nevelson (Ukraine, 1893-1983). Dawn Column I, 1959. Wood and found objects painted white, 92 3/8 x 13 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine. Museum purchase, 1979.81 © 2023 Estate of Louise Nevelson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Louise Nevelson (Ukraine, 1893-1983). Woman with a Red Scarf, c. 1947. Oil on board, 47 3/4 x 23 3/8 x 1 3/8 in. Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum, Rockland, Maine. Bequest of Nathan Berliawsky, 1980.35.24 © 2023 Estate of Louise Nevelson / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Associated Events
Exhibition Lecture
Ekphrastic Biography: A Poetic Exploration of Louise Nevelson’s Art and Life
Thursday, February 25, 2pm
Ubben Signature Event Space
Julie Gard, Ph.D, professor of writing and department chair, University of Wisconsin Superior
In this talk, reading, and visual presentation, Julie Gard will share excerpts from her prose poetry collection Scrap: On Louise Nevelson, in which she “carries out a necessary expansion of the ekphrastic tradition, not only entering into Louise Nevelson’s artworks with the precise, feelingful, and articulate response of an ideal viewer but also taking on the more emotionally fraught question of what it means to be an artist and a mother” (Kathleen Ossip). In addition, Gard will describe her travels to Pereiaslav, Ukraine, where Nevelson was born, and the establishment of a plaque there in the artist’s honor. Audience members will be encouraged to consider the benefits of deep, creative engagement with a visual artist’s work and legacy.
Louise Nevelson: Dawn to Dusk is organized by Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine, and is guest curated by Suzette McAvoy. Generous support provided by Art Bridges.