Talk:Jose de Creeft/timeline

Chronological Biography

• 1884
  • Birth of Jose De Creeft, November 27, Guadalajara, Spain, “The Valley of Stones”.
  • Father – Mariano De Creeft y Masdeu
  • Mother – Rosa Champane y Ortiz
• 1888
  • Family moves to Barcelona, Spain.
• 1890
  • Father dies leaving the family destitute. They move in with an Aunt.
• 1891
  • De Creeft earns pennies carrying sand and stone for Antonio Gaudi, Architect, during the construction of La SagradaFamilia Basilica, Barcelona, Spain.
• 1895
  • Begins modeling religious figures in clay to sell at the Festival Santa Lucia, Barcelona.
  • Makes first sculpture, Creches, which he fires at home in his oven and sells on the steps of the Cathedral of Barcelona.
• 1897
  • First apprenticeship withImagierBarnadas who carved religious figures in wood. This is De Creeft’s first experience with wood carving.
• 1898
  • Apprentice, Artistic Foundry of Masriera&Campins, under Sculptor Maria Benlliure.

• • Studies with Manolo Hugo.
• 1900
  • Moves to Madrid and studies in the workshop of Don AugustinQuerol, Official Sculptor of Spain. This is De Creeft’s first experience with stone carving.

• • Studies drawing with Rafael Hidalgo and Gutierres de Caviedas.

• • Studies sculpture with IgnaccioZuloaga.
• 1901
  • Works as a draftsman for the Madrid Administration of Bridges and Roads.

• • Learns perspective and precision drawing.
• 1902
  • Opens his first Studio with friend on CalleEspanolette.
  • De Creeft observes the works of a group of Eskimos in El RetiroPark which has a profound impact on his developing aesthetic. “The Eskimos impressed me with their simplicity and their directness of expression. With tiny pieces of ivory they made monumental sculptures that had strength, power and serenity, though they were less than hand-sized”.
• 1903
  • First exhibition, clay and plaster children, El Circulo de BellasArtes, Madrid.
• 1905
  • Moves to Paris, France. Upon the recommendation of Zuloaga and on the concurrence of Rodin, enters the Academie Julian, where he studies for two years.
  • Opens his first studio at 14, rue Chamberry.
  • Opens his second Studio at “Bateau Lavoir, Montmartre, where he interacts with Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Manolo, and other prominent proponents of Modern Art who also have studios there.
  • Esquisquiza, an urbane and scholarly Painter, becomes a good friend and mentor to De Creeft.
  • 1906
  • Awarded Grand Prix in the Concours de Sculpture for his Torso, clay,at the Academie Julian.
• 1907
• Returns to Madrid where he spends time with his Mother before she and his two elder sisters, Lola and Julia, move to Mexico.
• 1909
  • Exhibits for the first time at the Salon of the Societe des Artistes Francais showing a bronze head of a man and a plaster bust of a child.
• 1909-28
  • Exhibits periodically at the Societe des Artistes Francais, Society D’Encouragement Aux Artes, SocieteNationale des Beaux-Arts, Salon d’Automne, Salon des Artes, Salon des Tuileries, Salon des Artes Independent, Exposicion de BellasArtes, Salon Des Humoristes, and the Esposition De Artes De BecoratizaseIndustrialesModernasPapillomEspanole.
• 1911
  • Enters workshop at the MaisonGreber learning traditional techniques of reproducing sculpture in stone with pointing machines, mise aux point.
• 1915
  • De Creeft rejects the mise aux point technique, and embarks upon the technique oftaille direct, direct carving, which he refers to as “pure sculpture”. He destroys all previous work in clay and plaster.

He is one of the first twentieth century Artists to pursue this ancient technique. Completes Barbare. This is his first direct carving in wood.

• 1916
  • Completes his first stone, direct carving sculpture, a red granite head, and displays it at the SocieteNationale des Beaux-Arts. He also completes his first portrait carved directly from life in stone,Enigma, BlackBelgium Marble.
• 1917
  • Takes his first private students from Mexico and South America.
• 1918
• Awarded a commission to carve a seven foot granite war memorial of a French Infantryman, Le Poilu, Saugues ,Puy de Dome, which stands on a ten foot base in the town square. He completes this work in 1921, and as a result of his work is elected Officier de I’InstructionPublique, Paris.
• 1921
  • Executes twenty-one drawings for “Twenty-one Meditations”, a book by Albert Rid.
• 1924
  • De Creeft develops the technique of Chased Lead (cast and chiseled) working with large, rough forms which he manipulates with specialized tools he made for this process.
  • Creates Portrait ofCeasar Vallejo and Orchidia.Both works feature solid forms with open spaces.
• 1925
  • Working spontaneously with stove pipe and scrap metal, he creates Le Picador, an eight foot figure on horseback for the Gran BalEspagno, a reception for Flamenco Dancer Escudero. De Creeft paraded this piece through the streets of Paris to worldwide press coverage of the first time an Artist turned scrap metal into art. The work contains a seriousmessage, De Creeft’sopposition to the cruelty of bullfighting.

• • Other works of De Creeftin metal and various objects include:
    • Ostrich (1924).
    • Maturnity (1928).
    • Bird (1927).
    • Ardineala ‘Huille (1926)
• 1926
  • Le Picador is displayed at the Societe des Artistes Independants.
  • He meets Alexander Calder and encourages Calder to exhibit his mechanical toys.
  • Calder’s Circus is shown for the first time in De Creeft’s studio.
• 1927
  • Moves to Puerto Pollenca, Mallorca, Spain, upon receiving a commission to create sculptures for Roberto Ramonge’s fourteenth-century Fortress there. Granted complete artistic freedom, in eighteen months he carved more than two hundred pieces in stone.
• 1928
  • While continuing to reside in Mallorca he exhibits in Paris.
• 1929
  • He travels to Paris.
  • He and his student, Alice Robertson Carr of Roanoke, Virginia, travel to London, England in March where they are married. She later becomes well-known for her bronze portraits of show and race horses.
  • In July he holds first solo exhibition in the United States at the Seattle Arts Museum, Washington. During this trip he visits his Father-in-law.
  • Returns to New York City in September and establishes a studio at 1 Washington Square.
  • Solo exhibition in December at the Ferargil Galleries in New York.
• 1930
  • Takes a studio at 22 Minetta Lane, and residence at 1 Washington Place,New York.
  • Develops the innovative technique of Beaten Lead: creating three dimensional sculptures from one-quarter inch thick sheets of lead. His process involves suspending a lead sheet from the ceiling with clamps, and using ball peen hammers to work both sides simultaneously.
  • Creates his first beaten lead portrait from life, Portrait of Jolas.
  • Solo Exhibitions at the Arts Club of Chicago, and the 56th Street Gallery, New York City.
• 1931
  • Returns to Paris, then goes to Mallorca, and completes a life size portrait bust of Gertrude Lawrence in Beaten **Lead that is exhibited at the opening of Lawrence’s play, “Can a Leopard?” This work is in the collection of The Museum of the City of New York.
• 1932
  • Birth of Son, William in Paris.
  • Spends part of the year in Paris and takes a group of American students to Mallorca for summer instruction.
  • Solo Exhibition, Galleria Costa Palma, Majorca.
  • Comprehensive exhibition at The New School for Social Research, New York City.He is invited to join the faculty.
  • Joint exhibition with etcher, Alphonse Legros, at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1932-36
  • Continues to travel to Paris and Mallorca.
• 1933
  • Birth of Daughter, Nina, in New York City.
  • He brings Le Picador, and two granites, TheGuardian,and Seated Woman, to the United States.
  • Awarded the Crowninshield Prize for sculpture at the Twenty-fifth Annual (Massachusetts) Art Exhibition.
• 1934
  • Elected to the Board of Directors for the New York Society of Independent Artists.
• 1935
  • Installs the sculpture section of the Nineteenth Exhibition of Society ofIndependent Artists at GrandCentral Palace, New York City.
  • He leases a house in PuertaPollenca, for five years.

1936 The Spanish Civil War erupts in Pollenca. The Forteleza was bombed damaging many of De Creeft’s sculptures.

             He becomes a founding member of the American Artist’s Congress.

Joins the Georgette Passedoit Gallery, New York City, where his first show includes watercolors of Mallorca and Connecticut, and sculpture. Eva Campos enrolls as a private student of De Creeft’s,he becomes close friends with her and her husband, Jules. He takes a group of students to Paris for instruction during the Summer. 1936 – 48 Eleven Solo Exhibitions at Passedoit, Paris. 1937 Travels to Santa Barbara, California to visit with his children for three months. Exhibits watercolors and sculpture at the Faulkner Memorial Art gallery, Santa Barbara, California. 1938 Founding member of the Sculptors Guild.

             The Brooklyn Museum, New York purchases Semitic Head, Beaten Lead.

Woman in The Sun, White Marble, purchased by Billy Rosefor his Art Garden at The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. 1939 Divorced from Alice Carr De Creeft in February.

             Relocates studio to 218 Greene Street, New York. 

Maya,Black Belgium Marble,purchased by Wichita University, Roland P. Murdoch Foundation, Wichita, Kansas. 1940 Becomes a United States citizen.

              Museum of Modern Art purchasedSaturnia, Beaten Lead. 
              Wins a fellowship to spend the summer at Yaddo Art Colony, SaratogaSprings,New York.
              Resigns his membership in the Artist’s Congress and forms the Federation of
              Modern Painters and Sculptors.

1941 Jules Campos completes first book of De Creeft’s work, Sculpture of Jose De Creeft. President of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors.

              Whitney Museum of Art purchasedThe Cloud, Limestone.

Metropolitan Museum of Art purchasedEmerveillement, SerpentineMarble. Receives second fellowship at Yaddo Art Colony. 1942 Artists For Victory Exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, awarded first prize and purchase prize of $5,000.00 for Maternity, granite. Art News selects Maternity as the best sculpture of the year and distinguishes his show at the Passedoit Gallery as one of the ten outstanding exhibitions of the year.

             Board of Directors, Society Independent Artists.

Juror, 53rd Annual Exhibition of American Painters and Sculptors, Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois.

1943 Whitney Museum, New York, NY, purchasedHimalaya, Beaten Lead.

                Selected as juror of the Western New York Exhibition by the Artists of Buffalo, New York.

Has solo Exhibition, St. Paul Gallery, Minnesota.

1944 Teaches at Black Mountain College, Black Mountain, North Carolina during the summer where he meets Lorrie Goulet, of Los Angeles, CA, one of his sculpture students. In November he marries Goulet in New York City, with the ceremony performed by Ethical Cultures.

              Elected to Board of Directors of the Society Independent Artists.

Solo Exhibition, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. 1944-48 Teaches at The Art Students League, New York City. 1945 Gold Medal Recipient for Rachmaninoff , Beaten Lead, at the 140th annual of The Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

               “Critics Choice” at the Seventeenth Regiment Armory Show, New York, New York.

Creates Les Adieux, The Farewell in Beaten Lead, eight feet high. Note: The shield originally placed on the left arm of the warrior is subsequently “beaten” back into the work by De Creeft sometime before 1951. Atlantis, Green Serpentine Marble, is purchased by the University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Pennsylvania. 1946 De Creeft and Goulet purchase a hundred acre farm in Hoosick Falls, NY where they establish a studio and part-time residence. Working in the outdoors enhanced De Creeft’s health and vitality, relieving the lung difficulties he experienced from carving stone. Creates portrait of Lorrie Goulet, Lorraine, English Caen Stone, the second portrait carved directly from life.

             Elected to the National Sculpture Society.

1948       Birth of Daughter, Donna Maria in New York City.

Founding member of the Artists Equity Association.

                Elected Associate of National Academy of Design.

1949-50 Visiting Instructor at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine, during the summer. In the Winter he is visiting Instructor at the Norton Gallery and School of Fine Art, West Palm Beach, Florida. 1950 Solo Exhibition, Watercolors, Cheney Library, Hoosick Falls, NY. “Jose De Creeft”, by John J. Cunningham, Published by University of Georgia Press/National Sculpture Society, Athens, Georgia, 1950. 1951 Begins work on Poet, eight foot granite, his first major U.S. commission,for Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial, Fairmont Park, Philadelphia. Completed in 1956. This work required De Creeft to utilize his forging skills to sharpen and re-temper over two hundred points (tools) daily. During the creative process, the Poet becomes a Poetess.

             Rachmaninoff , Beaten Lead, is purchased by the Pennsylvania Academy.
             Joins Audubon Artists.

Les Adieux (The Farewell), Beaten Lead, is awarded top prize of $10,000 in the American Sculpture competition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. 1952 Became member of Board of Directors, Audubon Artists. 1953 Moved to 308 East Fifteenth Street, New York City, where he and Goulet establish a residence and studios. 1954 Gold Medal, Audubon Artists, for Young Woman, marble, at the twelfth annual exhibition of Audubon Artists. 1956 Joins the Contemporary Galleries, New York City, where he has solo exhibitions every two years until 1966. Elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters. Establishes Studio at 551Hudson Street, and residence with family at 79 Barrow Street, New York City.

             	Maturity wins anonymous award at Audubon Artists exhibition.

1957 Alice In Wonderland,bronze sculpture group, Central Park, New York City, is commissioned by George T. Dellacorte as a memorial for his wife, Margarite. He wanted a sculpture that children could climb and play on.

	Acrobats, stone, wins Medal of Honor at the Audubon Artists’ exhibition.

Awarded a commission for a hammered-copper sculpture, Theme, for the Jewish Community Center, White Plains, New York. Serves as juror with Adelyn D. Breeskin and John Chapman Lewis for the sixty-fifth annual of Washington Artists. 1957-60 Teaches at The New School For Social Research, New York, New York. 1957-79 Teaches at The Art Students League, New York, New York. 1958 Elected Fellow of the National Sculpture Society. Has solo exhibition Vermont Art Center, Manchester, Vermont. 1959 Alice In Wonderland, a 12 x 16’ bronze Sculpture Group, Central Park, New York City is dedicated by Commissioner Robert Moser during a gala public event. Immediately upon the unveiling dozens of children covered the sculpture. De Creeft’s Daughter, Donna Maria, is the face of Alice.

             	Invited to join the International Institute of Arts and Letters.

1960 At the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, May, a major retrospective exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts as part of the Ford Foundation’s program to honor significant artists more than forty years of age. After opening at the Whitney, the exhibition traveled for the next two years to thirteen museums throughout the United States. De Creeft and family travel to Europe, touring places he lived and worked in France and Spain. During this trip he visits the Forteleza in Mallorcaand surveys the damage of the Civil War.

              Family purchases a house in Rye, New York.  Retains Hudson Street Studio.

1961 City of New York awards commission to De Creeft for a mosaic mural at the Bronx Municipal Hospital Center, Nurses Residence and School, Bronx, New York. In this work, De Creeft depicts beautiful images of women in brilliant colors. 1962 Has solo exhibition of drawings, Louis Alexander Gallery, New York City. De Creeft completes the mural for the Bronx Hospital Center.

       	Elected first Vice-President, New York Chapter of the Artists Equity Association.

1963 Declines nomination as President of the Artists Equity. Returns to Puerto Pollenca, Mallorca with his family, and rents a house for three months on the Calle San Vicente, near the Forteleza. 1964 Elected Academician, National Academy of Design. 1965 De Creeft invited to exhibit in the Festival of the Arts at the White House, Washington, DC. He and Goulet attend opening with dinner afterwards in the Rose Garden hosted by Ladybird Johnson. 1966 City of New York commissions De Creeft to create a bronze relief, Medical Science – The Gift of Health, for the Public Health Laboratory of Bellevue Hospital. Robert Hanson produces documentary film of De Creeft sculpting The Hand of Creation, white Carrara marble. The work is in the Collection of the Art Students League of New York. This is the only filmed record of De Creeft carving directly. In the film he states: “I love the stones. I respect the stones like my Grandfather.” De Creeft and Goulet purchase a four story building on West 20th Street, New York City where they establish permanent residence and studio. 1967 New Being, marble, ispurchased by The Wichita State University, Wichita, Kansas. 1969 Awarded the Therese and Edwin H. Richard Prize for Dream, Pink Tennesee Marble, by the National Sculpture Society.

      	Elected to a Chair at the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

1970 Joins the Kennedy Galleries, New York City, where he has solo exhibitions in 1971, ’72, ’73, ’74, and ’79. 1972 The Vatican, Rome, Italypurchased De Creeft’s work, The Baby’s Sleep, marble. De Creeft is one of three Artists chosen for the Vatican’s permanent collection of Religious Art. Jules Campos publishes his second book, “The Sculpture of Jose De Creeft”. Elected, Vice-President, National Academy of Design. 1973 Awarded Comendador de La Orden de Isabela La Catolica, Madrid, Spain. 1974 Special Exhibition of the De Creeft pieces in the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC, in honor of his 90th birthday, including a display of his tools. Major Retrospective Exhibition, New School for Social Research, New York City. 1975 Columbia University in New York City awards De Creeft the Florence Eickemeyer Award for Excellence, on recommendation of the National Academy Museum. 1976 The Spanish Consulate in New York City, Alberto Lopez Herce, arranges an audience with King Juan Carlos I of Spain for De Creeft and Goulet on the occasion of the King’s first visit to the US. Nude, walnut wood, acquired by the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.Gift of James Rudel. 1976-79 The Town of Hoosick Falls, New York, passes a resolution for a memorial honoring De Creeft to be placed in Wood Park. De Creeft donates his sculpture The Guardian, granite, and designs the marble seating and pedestal on which it is placed. The Citizens of the town join together and raise the funds for this project. 1977 De Creeft is named HijoPredilicto (Honored Son) of Guadalajara, Spain. A street is named in his honor, a plaque placed on the house of his birth, and he is awarded the keys to the City. De Creeft is unable to attend the ceremony and sends Goulet who gives the acceptance speech in Spanish on his behalf. 1979 Solo Exhibition in honor of his 95th Birthday, Sculptures and Drawings, Kennedy Galleries, New York City. 1980 Receives Merit Award from Artists Equity Association, New York. Preparations begin for Solo Exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. 1981 La aventurahumana de Jose de Creeftwas organized by CarlesFontsere. This major retrospective was shown at the Fundacio Joan Miro, Barcelona, Spain. De Creeft, unable to attend, sends Goulet, who travels there with friends. The exhibition traveled to seven museums throughout Spain over two years. Extremely well received by the Spanish Press. De Creeft’s donates Le Picador, ametal assemblage, to the Fundacio Joan Miro in honor of his Father, Mariano De Creeft y Masdeu. 1982 Passes away on September 11 at the age of ninety-seven in New York City. De Creeft’s ashes are buried in Hoosick Falls, New York, at the foot of TheGuardian monument in a granite urn carved by a group of his students. The monument reads: Jose De Creeft November 27, 1884 - September 11, 1982 “Love and Respect One Another” The Guardian was produced in 1918 to demonstrate to the French government his ability to carve granite for the commission of Le Poilu, Saugues, France. 1983 Jose De Creeft, Sculpture and Drawings, a major retrospective honoring the life and art of De Creeft, was held at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC. The Opening Celebration was attended by Lorrie Goulet and friends. A memorial was held in the Great Hall at Cooper Union, New York City. Marguerite, bronze on stone base, acquired by Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation Center.Gift of Lorrie Goulet. Head of Gertrude Lawrence,ceramic and shell, 1931,was purchased by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Luce Foundation. 1984 A memorial is held at the Art Students League, New York City. 1986 Continuite, marble isacquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Gift of the Sara Ruby Foundation. 1989 Solo Exhibition, Sculpture and Drawings 1917-1940, Child’s Gallery, New York City 1990 José de Creeft (1884-1982), a survey of drawings, was held at Louis Newman Galleries, Beverly Hills, California. 1992 Solo Exhibition, Watercolors. Snyder Fine Arts Gallery, New York City. 1997 Solo exhibition, Drawings, MB Modern Gallery, New York, New York. Solo Exhibition, Sculpture and Drawings, Child’s Gallery, New York, New York.

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