Description
She reshaped modern sculpture through sheer force of will. Born Leah Berliawsky in Russia in 1899 and raised in Maine, Louise Nevelson became one of America’s most original sculptors. Laurie Lisle’s A Passionate Life tells her extraordinary story.
Working in obscurity for decades, Nevelson found her breakthrough in the late 1950s with monumental wall sculptures assembled from found wood and painted a commanding matte black — shadowy cities of boxes, spindles, and fragments that redefined what sculpture could be. Later works in white and gold confirmed her as a master of form and mystery.
As dramatic as her art was her persona: the towering false eyelashes, the regal costumes, the fierce independence in a male-dominated art world. Lisle draws on interviews and deep research to capture both the artist and the woman — ambitious, difficult, visionary, unforgettable — and her late marriage to a much younger man only added to the legend. Essential reading for art lovers, this biography reveals how Nevelson carved her place in art history on her own uncompromising terms.
Louise Nevelson: A Passionate Life tells the extraordinary story of one of America’s most original sculptors. Born Leah Berliawsky in Russia in 1899 and raised in Maine, Louise Nevelson reshaped modern sculpture through sheer force of will and imagination.
Laurie Lisle traces Nevelson’s remarkable journey from immigrant childhood to international fame. Working in obscurity for decades, Nevelson found her breakthrough in the late 1950s with monumental wall sculptures assembled from found wood and painted a commanding matte black — shadowy cities of boxes, spindles, and fragments that redefined what sculpture could be. Later works in white and gold confirmed her as a master of form and mystery.
As dramatic as her art was her persona: the towering false eyelashes, the regal costumes, the fierce independence in a male-dominated art world. Lisle draws on interviews and deep research to capture both the artist and the woman — ambitious, difficult, visionary, unforgettable.
Essential reading for art lovers, this biography reveals how Nevelson carved her place in art history on her own uncompromising terms.
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