Reuben Nakian

Art Brokerage: Rueben Nakian American Artist: b. 1897-1986. Among America's most pioneering, and yet, enigmatic sculptors of the 20th Century is Reuben Nakian. His works range from his provocative 1943 portrait of Marcel Duchamp - when Nakian took a decidedly independent stylistic shift - to Nakian's iconic sculptures and drawings inspired by Greek mythology. Nakian was born in 1897 in College Point, New York, (the fifth child of Armenian immigrants). From 1916 to 1919, he apprenticed tothe noted sculptor, Paul Manship in New York, along with GastonLachaise. Nakian and Lachaise established their own studio from 1920 to 1922. In 1922, with a stipend from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, Nakian established his own studio. Nakian's early works of the 1920s and 30s were mainly of exotic animals sculpted in a sensually smooth manner, typical of the era. Exhibitions of Reuben Nakian have been presented by major museums internationally. Among them are the exhibitions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., and Fundacao Calouste Gulbenkian in Lisbon. In 1966, he was afforded a solo exhibition organized by Frank O'Hara at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Nakian represented America in the 1968 Venice Biennale. Listings wanted.