Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
1995.01 |
Object Name |
Bust |
Title |
Bust of Franz Boas |
Artist |
Konenkov, Sergei |
Date |
1936, 1977 |
Description |
Life-size bust of head, shoulders, chest, and right hand of Franz Boas. Sitter wears tie, vest and jacket; facing forward with gaze upward. Full hair and moustache. |
Label |
This sculpture of Franz Boas, an ethnographer and anthropologist at Columbia University and Curator of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, was done by artist Sergei Konenkov in 1936. A duplicate cast is owned by Columbia University and was made for the donor by Ron Cavalier, Norwalk, in 1977 from the original in plaster. The original plaster was acquired by the donor from her cousin, Dr. Norman Boas, grandson of Franz Boas. Konenkov was a well-known Russian sculptor who participated in Lenin’s Plan for Monumental Propaganda in the Soviet Union and represented the Soviet Union in a number of national exhibitions. In 1922, Konenkov left Russia for the United States, accompanying the Russian Art Exhibition which opened in 1924 in New York. He remained in America until 1945 and sculpted a number of busts of well-known figures, including Boas. While there is little information regarding this particular visage, Konenkov’s wife wrote to Franz Boas afterwards, saying, "My husband speaks often of you and of the inspiring and happy hours he spent while working on your portrait in Columbia University." |
Medium |
Bronze |
Dimensions |
H-27 W-28 D-23 inches |
Dimension Details |
Without base: 24.5 x 21 x 15 Base: 2.5 x 28 x 23 |
Credit line |
American Philosophical Society. Gift of Gertrud Michelson, 19 December 1995. |
Search Terms |
20th century twentieth century sculpture anthropology |