$27,025
Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880-1979) Crest of the Wave Signed and dated "HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH (c) 1925" and stamped "GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS QFHL" on the base. Bronze with brown patina, height 20 in. (51 cm), on a low black marble plinth. Condition: Good, scattered wear to surface. Provenance: A private Baltimore collection. N.B. Frishmuth preferred to use dancers rather than models for her work because of their flexibility and strength which was necessary for holding poses for long periods of time. She hired one Yugoslavian ballet dancer named Desha Delteil to model for the majority of the sculptures. Frishmuth had her model dance to music which she felt would capture the feeling she was trying to express, then have her pause when she saw the right movement. She also made sure to be an active participant in the process of casting the bronzes to ensure that each piece was unique and perfect. She is said to have personally inspected and approved every minute detail on each bronze to make sure that they met her idea of perfection, rejecting casts with any sign of tiny imperfections. A native of Philadelphia born in 1880, Frishmuth studied in Paris under Rodin and Injalbert, and was a member of the National Academy of Design and the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. Her work stands in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Brookgreen Gardens among many other places.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2003-11-21
