Her feet were jaunty, mimicking the I-don’t-take-no-mess jut of her right knee, the straight-up proud stance of her body and the downward jab of her index fingers. Girlfriend seemed to be making a strong point.
From where I stood there admiring this sculpture, she had to be modeled after an African American woman (or African, based on her features). If not a black woman, at least a woman sure of herself and what she wanted. And wasn’t hesitant to ask for it.
This woman was fearless – even as a bronze nude figure standing there on top of a glass case at one of my favorite auction houses. I was immediately struck by the self-assuredness of this piece of metal. Who could have captured an image in so much boldness?
I checked the piece for a signature and found the name Louis Slobodkin. There was no date, so there was no way for me to know how old it was. It was stately: 26″ high, 7″ wide and 8″ deep, and had been cast at Kunst Foundry in New York. (Photo of Slobodkin at left is from the website of the University of Southern Mississippi, which has his papers.)
The sculpture had an attitude. And that’s what was so distinctive about it: Slobodkin gave her attitude – and personality. No mincing-of-words here, no middle-of-the-road. I had to find out more about him.
The sculpture was being auctioned as part of a Decorative Arts sale – which meant that it would be pricey and I wouldn’t likely be able to put a toe into the bidding. It had apparently been in the home of a major collector whose artwork was being sold that day. The other pieces from that home, too, were just as significant as this nude; I wondered about living in a home where you could walk among so much great artwork.
My auction buddy Janet said it reminded her of a young Nina Simone, a singer whom I’ll always remember for the song “To Be Young Gifted and Black.” Dubbed the “High Priestess of Soul,” Simone was a presence both in her performances (which were considered “happenings”) and her personal life.
The sculpture at auction had the same bent knee and tilted-back head of another of Slobodkin’s sculptures: a young Abe Lincoln from the late 1930s. That piece brought him notoriety when it was removed and destroyed during the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Like many other artists, he had been commissioned to create artwork for the fair that depicted unity and peace.
His choice was a 15-foot plaster and steel sculpture of a Lincoln in suspenders and shirtsleeves called the “Rail Joiner.” When Slobodkin went to see the installed piece before the fair opened, he was told that it was gone. It had been ordered destroyed by the fair’s commissioner who found it too big, too high, and … too ugly.” The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, is said to have liked it.
Slobodkin was eventually commissioned to do a bronze of the sculpture – at half its size – that was placed permanently at the Department of Interior in Washington. (Photo above of the World’s Fair sculpture is from the website slobodkin.net and taken from an article written by the artist in 1939 for the Magazine of Art.)
He was born in Albany, NY, in 1903 and apparently knew by the age of 10 that he was a sculptor. He persuaded his family to allow him to drop out of school at 15 to pursue his interest in sculpture, which he did for more than 20 years before embarking on a career illustrating children’s books.
He illustrated his first book “The Moffats” in 1941 with writer Eleanor Estes, and they collaborated on several other books. In 1944, he won the Caldecott Medal for his illustration of the James Thurber book “Many Moons.” Slobodkin wrote about 50 children’s books and illustrated about 40 more. He died in 1975.
The female sculpture at auction sparked some spirited bidding, with at least four bidders on the phone. It started at $2,000, and by the end, sold for $8,500 (not including the 15 percent premium). (Meanwhile, I found in my research that desktop-size bronzes of the young Lincoln – 8 ½” high – sold at auction over the last five years for $4,000 and $4,800.)
Someone got an excellent piece in the nude female. I would love to know its background.
