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Margaret Brassler Kane

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Margaret Brassler Kane
Brassler Kane working in 1939
Born(1909-05-25)May 25, 1909
East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedApril 10, 2006(2006-04-10) (aged 96)
Cos Cob, Connecticut, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
StyleFigurative art, sculpture

Margaret Brassler Kane (May 25, 1909 – April 10, 2006) was an American figurative sculptor known for her use of the direct-carving method.[1][2]

Brassler Kane was born to parents Hans and Mathilde Trumpler Brassler in East Orange, New Jersey, and moved with her parents to Brooklyn in 1918.[3] She attended Packer Collegiate Institute, Syracuse University, and the Art Students League of New York, as well as took lessons with John Hovannes.[3] She won a number of prizes for her art during the 1940s. Many of her pieces depicted contemporary life and tackled current issues of the day, including socioeconomic injustice and war.[4][5] Brassler Kane was married to Arthur Ferris Kane in June 1930.[3][5]

One of Brassler Kane's best-known works is a group of large relief panels carved in limewood, each six by six feet: Symbols of Changing Man (1937–39), Earthbound (1950–57), and Micro-Macrocosm (1960–67).[3] The panels depict the history of humanity, exploring themes of science, technology, industry, religion, and social conflict.[1][2][6] However, until 2018, all of the panels had never been exhibited together.[2] Blackout, which shows a family of refugees fleeing from war, was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1942 in a contemporary art show entitled "Artists for Victory."[7] Bread and Wine (1940) is a bronze work that contrasts impoverished figures on a Great Depression-era breadline with well-off bargoers mingling over cocktails.[5][6] Harlem Dancers (1937), carved in Tennessee marble, is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[8]

Kane was a founding member of the Sculptors Guild.[5]

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References

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  1. ^ a b Rubinstein, Charlotte Streifer (1990). American Women Sculptors: A History of Women working in Three Dimensions. Boston: G.K. Hall. p. 299. ISBN 978-0-8161-8732-4. OCLC 20756128 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b c Valluzzo, Andrea (1 November 2018). "Margaret Brassler Kane: 'About Time' sculptor gets her due". Milford Mirror. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Bennewitz, Kathelene Motes (2008). Carved with Rasps and Chisels: The Sculpture of Margaret Brassler Kane (1909-2006). Cos Cob, CT: The Historical Society of the Town of Greenwich. pp. 32–35. OCLC 287028570.
  4. ^ "Artist - Margaret Brassler Kane". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  5. ^ a b c d Fox, Sandra Diamond (19 October 2018). "Darien Historical Society exhibits work by Margaret Brassler Kane". The Darien Times. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b Zimmer, William (6 February 2000). "Art Reviews; 'The Enduring Figure'". The New York Times. p. 9. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 431373009. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  7. ^ Nichols, Hobart; Taylor, Francis Henry (1942). Artists for Victory: An Exhibition of Contemporary American Art: Paintings, Sculpture, Prints. Sponsored by Artists for Victory, Inc. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 27. OCLC 1365884296. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024 – via Thomas_J._Watson_Library.
  8. ^ "Artworks: Harlem Dancers by Margaret Brassler Kane". Smithsonian Museum of American Art. Archived from the original on 13 May 2024. Retrieved 20 June 2017.


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