Louise Nevelson
(1899-1988)
"Sun-Set," 1981
Black polyester resin
Edition: 38/125 (there were also 25 artist's proofs)
With the incised signature and numbering on the title/publisher plaque affixed verso: Louise Nevelson; Pace Editions, Inc., New York, NY, pub.
12.5" H x 18" W x 2.5" D

Notes: Louise Nevelson was a prominent American sculptor, known for her various abstract cubist forms, large installations assemblages made from found and discarded objects with most of it being wood, through a poetic and personal lens.

Born in Pereyaslav, Russia, a Poltava Governorate province in Imperial Russia (now Kyiv, Ukraine) in 1899, to an Orthodox Jewish family. Nevelson and her family emigrated to Rockland, Maine in 1905. Nevelson had a blossoming passion for her high school art classes and a dream to study art in New York City. The early half of the 20th century would be a foundational key to her future success. From 1928 to 1930 she studied at the Art Students League, New York, NY. Studying under Hans Hofmann at the School for Modern Art, Munich, Germany, in 1931, assisting Diego Rivera in 1933 with paintings for the New Workers School and learning about pre-Columbian art, and having her first solo exhibition in 1941 at the Nierendorf Gallery. However, in the 1950s her commercial success arose, with the sole use of color used on her large wood assemblages from found objects. After the 1950s, she flourished in the art world for decades, evoking imagery of visual unity with contrasting elements.

In 1981, "Sun-Set" was created during the latter half of her career, as she continued using found and discarded wood, she also started implementing varied materials like plastic/Plexiglas, Cor-Ten steel, and aluminum. However, she remained consistent with the monochromatic color scheme of her assemblages, especially black. Nevelson even goes on to say, "When I fell in love with black, it contained all colors. It was not a negation of color. It was an acceptance. Because black encompasses all colors. Black is the most aristocratic color of all. You can be quiet, and it contains the whole thing." "Sun-Set," captures her intricate use of blending "incompatible" found objects into a creative masterpiece of harmony by capturing "their imperfections to help create a relationship among the parts." (MoMA (Museum of Modern Art)).

Louise Nevelson died on April 17, 1988, in New York. She was ahead of her time and represented the idea of female independence and breaking away from the confinements of life, through her artistic expression and passion. Don Bacigalupi, the former director of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, flawlessly articulated the impact of Nevelson by saying, "In Nevelson's case, she was the most ferocious artist there was. She was the most determined, the most forceful, the most difficult. She just forced her way in. And so that was one way to do it, but not all women chose to, or could take, that route."

Louise Nevelson's work has been exhibited alongside many key members of the Abstract Expressionist movement, including (but not limited to):

Alice Baber, William Baziotes, Norman Bluhm, Louise Bourgeoise, Friedel Dzubas, Perle Fine, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Dorothy Gillespie, Sam Gilliam, Michael Goldberg, Adolph Gottlieb, Grace Hartigan, Hans Hofmann, Paul Jenkins, Ray Johnson, Franz Kline, Elaine de Kooning, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, Morris Louis, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Robert Natkin, Barnett Newman, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, Charlotte Park, Ray Parker, Betty Parsons, Jackson Pollock, Richard Pousette-Dart, Ad Reinhardt, Milton Resnick, Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, Alma Woodsey Thomas, Jack Tworkov

Select Museum Collections:
Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
Tate Modern, London, England
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY

Overall good condition with light dust accumulation commensurate with age.

Frame: 19" H x 24.5" W x 2.875" D Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.