William Zorach

{{Infobox artist

| name = William Zorach

| image = William Zorach-by-Man Ray.jpg

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = William Zorach circa 1917, photographed by Man Ray

| birth_name = Zorach Gorfinkel

| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=y|1889|2|28}}

| birth_place = Jurbarkas, Lithuania, Russian Empire

| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=y|1966|11|15|1889|2|28}}

| death_place = Bath, Maine, U.S.

| nationality =

| spouse = {{marriage|Marguerite Zorach|1912}}

| known_for = Sculpture, painting, printmaking

| training =

| movement =

| notable_works =

| patrons =

| awards =

| elected = American Academy of Arts and Letters (1953)

| website =

}}

William Zorach (February 28, 1889 – November 15, 1966){{cite web|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|title=William Zorach|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/658045/William-Zorach|access-date=October 22, 2009}} was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the Arts in 1927. He was at the forefront of American artists embracing cubism.

He was the husband of Marguerite Thompson Zorach and father of Dahlov Ipcar, both artists in their own right.

Early life

Zorach Gorfinkel was born in 1889 into a Lithuanian Jewish family, the son of a barge owner,{{cite book |last1=Milwaukee Art Center |title=From Foreign Shores: Three Centuries of Art by Foreign Born American Masters |date=1976 |publisher=Milwaukee Art Center |location=Milwaukee}} in Jurbarkas ({{langx|ru|link=no|Eurburg}}) in Lithuania (then a part of the Russian Empire). As the eighth of ten children, Zorach (then his given name) emigrated with his family to the United States in 1894. They settled in Cleveland, Ohio under the name "Finkelstein". In school, his first name was changed to "William" by a teacher. Zorach stayed in Ohio for almost 15 years pursuing his artistic endeavors. He apprenticed with a lithographer as a teenager and went on to study painting with Henry G. Keller in night school at the Cleveland School of Art from 1905 to 1907.{{cite book |last1=Hoopes |first1=Donelson F. |title=William Zorach |date=1968 |publisher=Brooklyn Museum |location=Brooklyn}} In 1908, Zorach moved to New York in enroll in the National Academy of Design.{{cite book|last=Wingert|first=Paul S.|title=The Sculpture of William Zorach|year=1938|publisher=Pitman Publishing Corporation|location=New York|pages=10}} In 1910, Zorach moved to Paris with Cleveland artist and lithographer, Elmer Brubeck, to continue his artistic training at the La Palette art school.{{cite web|last=Hanson|first=Jayna|title=A Finding Aid to the Zorach Family Papers, 1900–1987, in the Archives of American Art|url=http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/zorach-family-papers-6932/more|work=Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.|access-date=July 29, 2011}}

Career

While in Paris, Zorach met Marguerite Thompson (1887–1968), an art student and fellow American, whom he married on December 24, 1912, in New York City.{{cite web |title=Marguerite Thompson Zorach (1887–1968) |url=http://www.hollistaggart.com/artists/biography/marguerite_thompson_zorach |website=Hollis Taggart Galleries |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013144102/http://www.hollistaggart.com/artists/biography/marguerite_thompson_zorach/ |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |date=2008}} The couple adopted his original given name, Zorach, as a common surname. Zorach and his wife returned to America where they continued to experiment with different media. In 1913, works by both Zorach and Marguerite, were included in the now famous Armory Show, introducing his work to the general public as well as art critics and collectors.{{cite book|last=Wingert|first=Paul S.|title=The Sculpture of William Zorach|year=1938|publisher=Pitman Publishing Corporation|location=New York|pages=12}} Both William and Marguerite were heavily influenced by cubism and fauvism. They are credited as being among the premier artists to introduce European styles to American modernism. During the next seven years, Zorach established himself as a painter, frequently displaying his paintings in gallery shows as venues such as the Society of Independent Artists and the Whitney Studio Club.Wingert, Paul S. (1938). The Sculpture of William Zorach. New York: Pitman Publishing Corporation. While Marguerite began to experiment with textiles and created large, fine art tapestries and hooked rugs, William began to experiment with sculpture, which would become his primary medium.

File:17 West 9th Street.jpg

In 1915, William and Marguerite started their family with the birth of their son, Tessim. Their daughter, Dahlov Ipcar, was born in 1917, and would later also work as an artist. While the Zorach family spent their winters in New York, their summers were divided between New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Notably, they spent a few summers in Plainfield, New Hampshire at the Cornish Art Colony, renting Echo Farm which was owned by their friend and fellow artist Henry Fitch Taylor. It was here that their daughter was born, all the while producing various prints depicting country life.{{Cite web

| url = http://www.doylenewyork.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=14PT03++++88+&refno=+1036058

| title = Impressionist & Modern Art – Sale 14PT03 – Lot 88 – Doyle New York

| website = www.doylenewyork.com

| access-date = February 28, 2016

}} He was also a member of the Provincetown Printers art colony in Massachusetts.{{cite web|url=http://www.si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/Provincetown-PrintersA-Woodcut-Tradition-3672 |title=Provincetown Printers/A Woodcut Tradition |website=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=February 2, 2017}}

In 1923, the Zorach family purchased a farm on Georgetown Island, Maine where they resided, worked, and entertained guests. Zorach was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1953.{{cite web|title=Deceased Members|url=http://www.artsandletters.org/academicians2_deceased.php|work=American Academy of Arts and Letters|access-date=July 30, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726004624/http://www.artsandletters.org/academicians2_deceased.php|archive-date=July 26, 2011}}

Works

Zorach's works can be found in numerous private, corporate, and public collections across the country including such acclaimed locales as the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, Radio City Music Hall, the Currier Museum of Art, Joslyn Art Museum, and the Ogunquit Museum of American Art, as well as numerous college and university collections.{{cite web|url=http://www.wiscassetbaygallery.com/index.php?mact=ArtGallery,cntnt01,showartistpaintings,0&cntnt01artist_id=66&cntnt01language=&cntnt01returnid=19|title=Inventory|work=wiscassetbaygallery.com}} His work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/921655 |title=William Zorach |work=Olympedia |access-date=August 8, 2020}}

Image:Puma by Zorach.jpg|Puma, in the National Gallery of Art

File:Puma Azalea Garden Philly.JPG|Puma

File:William Zorach, Moses, 1952.JPG|Moses

File:Zorach medal.JPG|Dimitri Mitropoulos, International Music Competition Medal

File:Brooklyn Museum - Tree - Yosemite - William Zorach - overall.jpg|Brooklyn Museum - Tree - Yosemite - William Zorach - overall

File:Brooklyn Museum - Skiff in Waves (recto) and Figures in Landscape (verso) - Marguerite Thompson Zorach - framed.jpg|Brooklyn Museum - Skiff in Waves (recto) and Figures in Landscape (verso) - Marguerite Thompson Zorach - framed

File:Zorach - New Horizons.jpg|New Horizons. Bronze sculpture, 1951, approximately 42 inches high.

File:Floating Figure by William Zorach.jpg|William Zorach, Floating Figure. 1922. Bronze. High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia.

File:New York Harbor.jpeg|New York Harbor (1923), The Phillips Collection

References

External links

[http://www.exitfive.com/zorach Official website] run by some of Zorach's grandchildren, dedicated to the work of their grandparents.
[http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/3aa/3aa85.htm "To Be Modern: The Origins of Marguerite and William Zorach's Creative Partnership, 1911–1922"], Jessica Nicoll, Portland Museum of Art
[http://www.wiscassetbaygallery.com/index.php?mact=ArtGallery,cntnt01,showartistpaintings,0&cntnt01artist_id=66&cntnt01language=&cntnt01returnid=19 "Works of William Zorach"] at the Wiscasset Bay Gallery
[https://web.archive.org/web/20050108080442/http://www.swope.org/main/collection/015coll.htm swope.org]
[http://www.ilovefiguresculpture.com/masters/american1/zorach/zorach.htm ilovefiguresculpture.com]
Biographies on art.com: [http://www.artnet.com/library/09/0936/T093619.asp short], [http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage.aspx?artist_id=18455&page_tab=Bio_and_links long]
{{imdb name|3741175|William Zorach}}