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Louise Nevelson

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Artist

The Resume

    (September 23, 1899-April 17, 1988)
    Born in Kiev, Ukraine
    Birth name was Leah Berliawsky
    Sculptor
    Known for her room-sized 'assemblages' of found objects
    Works include 'Dawn's Wedding Feast' (1959), 'Homage to 6,000,000 I' (1964), 'Self Portrait: Silent Music IV' (1964) and 'Night Presence IV' (1973)
    Awarded the National Medal of the Arts (1985)

Why she might be annoying:

    Art dealer Arnold Glimcher said her life was 'such an intricate pattern of fantasy synthesized with reality that separation of myth and fact is nearly impossible.'
    She neglected her son while obsessing over her work.
    Her flamboyant dress style -- featuring colorful costumes, headscarves and multiple layers of false eyelashes -- was described by Time as 'a cross between Catherine the Great and a bag lady.'
    At a dinner in her honor, she stood and said, 'First of all, I want to thank myself.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    After separating from her husband, a wealthy shipowner, she refused alimony and child support (1931).
    Cue magazine wrote of her first solo exhibition (1941), 'We learned the artist was a woman in time to check our enthusiasm. Had it been otherwise, we might have hailed these sculpted expressions as by surely a great figure among the moderns.'
    At age 60, she was featured in the Museum of Modern Art's 'Sixteen Americans' show alongside contemporary artists two to three decades her junior.
    She said of her late fame, 'Life isn't one straight line. Most of us have to be transplanted, like a tree, before we blossom.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 10 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 21 Votes: 47.62% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 17 Votes: 58.82% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 185 Votes: 50.81% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 12 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 29 Votes: 68.97% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying