Items Similar to “Eden”
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9
“Eden”1987
1987
About the Item
Original hand cast bronze dual figure of a hollow dressed torso of a male and female representing Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The bronze sculpture is attributed to the American sculptor Judith Shea. This piece is a maquette for a life size bronze executed by this artist that is located in an outdoor space in Buffalo, New York. Both are titled “Eden” and were done in 1987. Condition is excellent. Unsigned. Label on the bottom of the thick pine base states the artist and title of the artwork. Provenance: A Long Island, New York collector.
Judith Shea has been a notable presence in the New York art world since the 1970s. Trained as a designer at Parsons, she soon found the fashion industry too restrictive and abandoned it in favor of making art. For her first solo show, at The Clocktower in 1976, Shea made a work based on color theory, using transparent silks in a spectrum of colors, worn by a live model. Other early work referenced clothing and its construction, first as flat, minimalist pattern and later as molded draping over implied, absent figures. In the 1981 Whitney Biennial, Shea showed three simple forms that evoked iconic clothes of the 1950s and 60s—the overcoat and the simple sheath dress—which hung from the wall as if on hangers. Five related works were included in the Hirshhorn’s Directions 83 survey. All of these works evoke human presence, felt as absence, as if the clothes were placeholders for missing persons. Thinking about her earlier clothes-based works, Shea has said that she “was looking for characters, for personae, really, to occupy them. I used clothes as stand-ins for people.”
With the support of NEA grants, Shea began to learn bronze casting, and she was able to also spend time in Paris studying the statuary of its parks and gardens. This research led to several hollow-figure compositions from the 1980s that were designed to be sited in public spaces, such as Eden (John Hancock Tower, Chicago), Shepherd’s Muse (Oliver Ranch), Shield (Sheldon Museum of Art), and Without Words (Walker Art Center). In the 1990s, after a residency at Chesterwood—the site of Daniel Chester French’s studio in Stockbridge—Shea began to use woodcarving to make monumental public sculpture. The first of these full-scale wooden figures were shown in 1992 at the Whitney Museum at Phillip Morris in New York. In 1994 her wooden equestrian statue The Other Monument, a monumental image of a black man on a black horse, was installed at Doris Freedman Plaza in New York, in the same plaza as the William Tecumseh Sherman Monument, Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s golden equestrian figure.
Following several periods abroad, including in Bellagio as a Rockefeller Foundation Resident, in Rome as a Fellow at the American Academy, and in Oaxaca as a winner of the Lila Wallace–Reader’s Digest Artist’s Award, Shea began a group of works in 2000 that deal with the figure imagined as character and icon. This work set the stage for the evolution of her next major body of work, which she titled Judith Shea: Legacy Collection. The direct source of the Legacy Collection was the artist’s experience of 9/11: Shea’s home was, and still is, near Ground Zero. In this very personal response, Shea fashioned a group of mannequin-like figures looking skyward, elegant in gray felt, dusted by debris. Several works from the Legacy Collection series have been acquired by the Yale University Art Gallery, where they are now on view.
In addition to the Yale Art Gallery, Shea’s work is included in many public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Walker Art Center, and Whitney Museum of American Art. She is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards; recent honors include the Anonymous Was a Woman Award, in 2011, and the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, in 2012.
- Attributed to:Judith Shea (1948, American)
- Creation Year:1987
- Dimensions:Height: 12.5 in (31.75 cm)Width: 10.5 in (26.67 cm)Depth: 6 in (15.24 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Southampton, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14113490532
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1977
1stDibs seller since 2013
476 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: <1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Southampton, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- “Expecting”Located in Southampton, NYOriginal terracotta sculpture by the American sculptor William Huppert. Titled “Expecting”. Circa 1960. Post Modern. Overall height 18 inches including base. Base is 6 wide by 5.25 ...Category
1960s Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsTerracotta
- “Diana”By Emmanuel VillanisLocated in Southampton, NYBeautiful golden brown patina bronze of Diana, the goddess of the moon by the French sculptor, Emmanuel Villanis. Signed on her shoulder. Impressed foundry stamp on base, “Society de...Category
1880s Academic Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- “The Archer”By Pierre Le FaguaysLocated in Southampton, NYStunning, original Art Deco bronze of a male archer by the well known French sculptor, Pierre Le Faguays. Condition is very good. Verde green finish over bronze patina. Slight rubbed...Category
1930s Art Deco Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- "The Farewell Kiss"By Evgeny LancerayLocated in Southampton, NYThis is a beautiful original bronze casting by the foremost Russian sculptor of his day Evgeny Lanceray. Artist signed on the base in Cyrillic (image 5) and is also inscribed on the ...Category
Late 19th Century Realist Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- "Warming Up"By Victor Manuel VillarrealLocated in Southampton, NYBronze ballet dancer by Mexican artist Victor Manuel Villarreal, circa 1985. Signed at base. Condition is excellent. Provenance: Sarasota, Flori...Category
1980s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- “Enlevement des Sabines”By Marius Jean Antonin MerciéLocated in Southampton, NYHere for your consideration is a beautiful highly detailed bronze done in the forth quarter of the nineteen century after the work of Jean Boulogne, known as Giambologna. Boulogne’s sculpture was done in marble and was completed between 1579 and 1583. The sculptor of this bronze is Antonin Mercie, a well known French sculptor born in 1845. The bronze represents the Rape of the Sabine Women (Latin: Sabinae raptae), also known as the Abduction of the Sabine Women or the Kidnapping of the Sabine Women, was an incident in Roman mythology in which the men of Rome committed a mass abduction of young women from the other cities in the region. It has been a frequent subject of artists and sculptors, particularly during the Renaissance and post-Renaissance eras. Signed on base “Mercie” for Antonin Mercie.. In very good condition wirh original brown patina. The base which depicts rocks is bronze and has been painted a matt black. Provenance:: A Sarasota estate. Mercié, (Marius Jean Antonin Mercie...Category
1880s Academic Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
You May Also Like
- Little Girl StandingBy Philippe ChambaultLocated in Pasadena, CAPhilippe Chambault The artist was born August 9, 1930, in Châtenay-Malabry (Hauts-de-Seine), where he did his primary schooling. Then he studied art at the School of Applied Arts in Paris, and especially at the woodcarving workshop. In 1954, he entered the studio of the sculptor Georges Serraz (the author of Christ-Roi des Houches), and he replaced Henri Dunand, who returned to Vallorcine to run the family business (this is also his friendship with the latter who is the cause of his installation as a secondary residence in Vallorcine, from 1961). He meets the sculptor Louis Derbré, become one of the leaders of the figurative renewal, and befriends him. It is at his instigation that he participates in different salons. He won two national awards: the Fénéon Fellowship in 1956 and the Vikings Prize in 1957. In 1961, he joined J. Balme, a medal publisher in Saumur. Since then, he has created the creations of this house: commemorative medals.On the other hand, Philippe Chambault has kept a small activity as an independent sculptor, often in sacred art. His most important work, created for a Strasbourg seminar, is a three-meter-high wooden and copper crucifix...Category
1990s Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Bronze Abstract Sculpture Patrizia Guerresi Girasole SunflowerBy Patrizia Guerresi MaïmounaLocated in Brescia, ITThis is an engaging bronze sculpture created by the Italian artist Patrizia Guerresi, in 1986. The piece is a multiple of 1000 specimens on a green-painted wooden base. The title is ...Category
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Ugo La Pietra Bronze Abstract Sculpture Bellezza Al BagnoLocated in Brescia, ITThis is one of the 30 pieces of this engaging artwork realized in bronze by the well known Internationally artist, Ugo La Pietra, in 1985. This artwork well represents the relationsh...Category
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Abstract Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Dancer Italy 1985 Multiple Polished Painted Bronze On Painted WoodLocated in Brescia, ITUgo Cara’ was born in Trieste, Italy in 1908. He took part to numerous Home and International Shows, among which: International Biennale in Venice, Quadrienni...Category
1980s Post-Modern Prints and Multiples
MaterialsBronze
- Con Gli Occhi Nelle Stelle 2006 Italy Bronze Sculpture by Ugo RivaLocated in Brescia, ITThis is an intense bronze sculpture created by the Italian artist Ugo Riva, in 2006. Lost wax bronze on iron basement. The title of this artwork is "I...Category
Early 2000s Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
- Verso Te Italy Bronze Cast Woman Figurine Sculpture by Aron DemetzLocated in Brescia, ITThis intense bronze sculpture was made by the well known Italian artist, Aron Demetz, in 2004, Italy. This is a lost wax bronze hand painted. The title is "Verso te" translated in "T...Category
Late 20th Century Post-Modern Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsBronze
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
1970s Clothes Vintage
Three Horse Sculpture
Modern Sculpture Tower
Vintage Clothes Collection
Garden Tower
Eden Design
Modern Outdoor Garden Sculpture
Wooden Female Sculpture
Used Tower Garden
Wooden Woman Sculpture
Nelson Bronze
Dress 1987
60s Wall Sculpture
1987 Dresses
Saint Wood Figure
Homer Horse Sculpture
Outdoor Wall Art Vintage
William Hung