12

Bessie Potter Vonnoh

American, 1872-1955

Bessie Potter Vonnoh
(American, 1872-1955)

"The Dance"

patinated bronze
after the 1908 model, cast signature and inscribed "Roman Bronze Works, N.Y." along back of self-base.
h. 12-1/2", w. 10-1/2", d. 5"

Provenance: Roman Bronze Works, New York, New York; Anderson-Gould Fine Arts, New York, New York; Private collection.

Literature: Bessie Potter Vonnoh, "Tears and Laughter Caught in Bronze", The Delineator, Vol. 107, No. 4, October 1925, pp. 8,9,78,80,82.; Conner, Janis and Rosenkranz, Joel, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893-1939, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989; Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer, American Women Sculptors, Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1990.

Notes: Like all young things I was radical in art...what I wanted was to look for beauty in the every-day world, to catch the joy and swing of modern American life...I was equally determined to prove that as perfect a likeness and as much beauty could be produced in statuettes twelve inches in height...as could be had in life-size and colossal productions suitable for so few houses.
Bessie Potter Vonnoh
The Delineator, October 1925, p. 9

One of the most popular and acclaimed women sculptors of the early 20th century, Bessie Vonnoh was the recipient of virtually every major award and accolade available to a young artist: a bronze medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900, honorable mention at the Pan-American Exposition of 1901, the gold medal at the St. Louis Exposition of 1904, gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Universal Exposition in 1904, the National Academy of Design's Julia A. Shaw Memorial Prize in 1913, and the National Academy of Design's Watrous gold medal in 1921. She was a member of the National Sculpture Society, the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the Old Lyme Art Association and had exhibitions of her work at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum) and a solo show at the Art Institute of Chicago. Most significantly, in 1921 she was the first woman sculptor to be named an Academician of the National Academy of Design, making her and her husband, the American Impressionist painter and fellow Academician, Robert Vonnoh the first couple to be so honored.

A native of St. Louis, Vonnoh had a difficult childhood; her father died when she was two and shortly thereafter she fell seriously ill, spending nearly a decade as an invalid and only recovering after the doctors had given up. Attending the Chicago public schools , she was captivated by clay modeling in one of her art classes and she determined to become a sculptor. With her mother's blessing and encouragement, she met with the sculptor Loredo Taft, who had just returned from study in France and was an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago. Taft invited Vonnoh to work in his studio on the weekends and eventually helped her obtain a place at the Art Institute. In 1892, Taft hired her as one of his assistants, a group of young women known as the "White Rabbits", at the World's Columbian Exhibition. While working at the Exhibition, Vonnoh received a personal commission to create a monumental allegorical figure of art for the Illinois State Building. The young sculptor was now well on her way to a successful career and two years later she opened her own studio in Chicago where she produced small portrait sculptures of her friends - known as "potterines". With the money made by this, she and her mother were able to travel to France and Italy.

Upon her return to Chicago, Vonnoh embarked on a series of sculptures of women and children, which were to prove immensely popular with collectors and critics. These small works reveal an approach to the female form different from her earlier "potterines"; gone was the meticulous attention to the mutton sleeved dresses and fussy hairstyles of contemporary fashion. Instead, the deceptively simple composition of these works revel in a sense of refined movement, emphasizing suggestion over detail, with an intentionally "unfinished" quality to the drapery. The success of such an approach is evident in the work offered here "The Dance", one of Vonnoh's most popular models. The figure is caught mid-swirl, hands grasping the voluminous skirts - the movement is implied rather than shown, and Vonnoh has placed the burden of interpretation on the viewer.

Vonnoh exhibited extensively during her career, and while many of her models are numbered or inscribed to keep track of inventory, not all are and there were never any set editions. As with many of her contemporaries, she had her foundry, the Roman Bronze Works, produce works as they were commissioned.

patinated bronze
after the 1908 model, cast signature and inscribed "Roman Bronze Works, N.Y." along back of self-base.
h. 12-1/2", w. 10-1/2", d. 5"

  • Provenance: Roman Bronze Works, New York, New York; Anderson-Gould Fine Arts, New York, New York; Private collection.
  • Literature: Bessie Potter Vonnoh, "Tears and Laughter Caught in Bronze", The Delineator, Vol. 107, No. 4, October 1925, pp. 8,9,78,80,82.; Conner, Janis and Rosenkranz, Joel, Rediscoveries in American Sculpture: Studio Works, 1893-1939, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989; Rubenstein, Charlotte Streifer, American Women Sculptors, Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1990.
  • Notes: Like all young things I was radical in art...what I wanted was to look for beauty in the every-day world, to catch the joy and swing of modern American life...I was equally determined to prove that as perfect a likeness and as much beauty could be produced in statuettes twelve inches in height...as could be had in life-size and colossal productions suitable for so few houses.
    Bessie Potter Vonnoh
    The Delineator, October 1925, p. 9

    One of the most popular and acclaimed women sculptors of the early 20th century, Bessie Vonnoh was the recipient of virtually every major award and accolade available to a young artist: a bronze medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900, honorable mention at the Pan-American Exposition of 1901, the gold medal at the St. Louis Exposition of 1904, gold medal at the Louisiana Purchase Universal Exposition in 1904, the National Academy of Design's Julia A. Shaw Memorial Prize in 1913, and the National Academy of Design's Watrous gold medal in 1921. She was a member of the National Sculpture Society, the National Institute of Arts and Letters and the Old Lyme Art Association and had exhibitions of her work at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (now the Brooklyn Museum) and a solo show at the Art Institute of Chicago. Most significantly, in 1921 she was the first woman sculptor to be named an Academician of the National Academy of Design, making her and her husband, the American Impressionist painter and fellow Academician, Robert Vonnoh the first couple to be so honored.

    A native of St. Louis, Vonnoh had a difficult childhood; her father died when she was two and shortly thereafter she fell seriously ill, spending nearly a decade as an invalid and only recovering after the doctors had given up. Attending the Chicago public schools , she was captivated by clay modeling in one of her art classes and she determined to become a sculptor. With her mother's blessing and encouragement, she met with the sculptor Loredo Taft, who had just returned from study in France and was an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago. Taft invited Vonnoh to work in his studio on the weekends and eventually helped her obtain a place at the Art Institute. In 1892, Taft hired her as one of his assistants, a group of young women known as the "White Rabbits", at the World's Columbian Exhibition. While working at the Exhibition, Vonnoh received a personal commission to create a monumental allegorical figure of art for the Illinois State Building. The young sculptor was now well on her way to a successful career and two years later she opened her own studio in Chicago where she produced small portrait sculptures of her friends - known as "potterines". With the money made by this, she and her mother were able to travel to France and Italy.

    Upon her return to Chicago, Vonnoh embarked on a series of sculptures of women and children, which were to prove immensely popular with collectors and critics. These small works reveal an approach to the female form different from her earlier "potterines"; gone was the meticulous attention to the mutton sleeved dresses and fussy hairstyles of contemporary fashion. Instead, the deceptively simple composition of these works revel in a sense of refined movement, emphasizing suggestion over detail, with an intentionally "unfinished" quality to the drapery. The success of such an approach is evident in the work offered here "The Dance", one of Vonnoh's most popular models. The figure is caught mid-swirl, hands grasping the voluminous skirts - the movement is implied rather than shown, and Vonnoh has placed the burden of interpretation on the viewer.

    Vonnoh exhibited extensively during her career, and while many of her models are numbered or inscribed to keep track of inventory, not all are and there were never any set editions. As with many of her contemporaries, she had her foundry, the Roman Bronze Works, produce works as they were commissioned.
  • Condition: **In overall good condition with some faint rubbing, scattered pinprick-sized areas of whitish accretion (especially at back), and some soiling in more deeply modeled areas.

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