David Von Schlegell (May 25, 1920 – October 5, 1992) was an American
abstract artist
Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.
Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th ...
, sculptor and educator.
Early life and education
David von Schlegell was born in
St. Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
in 1920, the son of American impressionist artist William von Schlegell and painter Alice "Bae" Anderson.
At the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in the early 1940s, his concentration was on naval and aviation engineering. During WWII, he served in the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
from 1943 to 1944, becoming a first lieutenant. On a mission over the Mediterranean, he was shot down and while wounded, flew his B17 with his crew to safety.For his bravery he was awarded a Purple Heart.
After the war, he joined the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may stu ...
where his father taught, and continued to study painting with him in the artist's community of Ogunquit, Maine.
Career
He showed his paintings regionally in the 1950s. In the early 1960s David von Schlegell built his own home and studio in Cape Neddick, Maine. During that time, he turned to making sculpture, soon establishing himself as an eminent sculptor showing in Boston. He moved from wood to large scale works of polished steel and aluminum developing streamlined abstract forms and planes, often held in place by rigging wire, drawing from Constructivism and his lifelong interest in naval and airplane design.
He had his first one-man show of sculpture in New York City at the Royal Marks Gallery in 1965. He relocated to New York city the following year. In 1966, his work was presented in Kynaston McShine’s survey of 1960’s sculpture, "Primary Structures" at the Jewish Museum, an exhibition that helped establish Minimalism. This was followed by the Whitney Biennial, where his ''Radio Controlled Sculpture'' was exhibited. He showed with Reese Palley Gallery in New York, and then with the "Park Place Group" of sculptors including
Mark di Suvero
Marco Polo di Suvero (born September 18, 1933, in Shanghai, China), better known as Mark di Suvero, is an abstract expressionist sculptor and 2010 National Medal of Arts recipient.
Biography Early life and education
Marco Polo di Suvero was bor ...
,
Ronald Bladen
Ronald Bladen (July 13, 1918 – February 3, 1988) was a Canadian-born American painter and sculptor. He is particularly known for his large-scale sculptures. His artistic stance, was influenced by European Constructivism, American Hard-Edge ...
, and
Robert Grosvenor(link) in 1968. His work was included in the Carnegie International and in other large scale exhibitions.
von Schlegell began to design and build his first large-scale outdoor sculpture for the
Storm King Art Center
Storm King Art Center, commonly referred to as Storm King and named after its proximity to Storm King Mountain, is an open-air museum located in New Windsor, New York. It contains what is perhaps the largest collection of contemporary outdo ...
in 1969–1970. Other large scale public sculpture followed: ''Untitled Landscape'' 1972 in I. M. Pei 's India Wharf Project in Boston.
In 1971 David von Schlegell was appointed head of the Yale School of Art, Sculpture Department which he ran for two decades. His students of note include
Don Gummer
Don Gummer (born December 12, 1946) is an American sculptor. His early work concentrated on table-top and wall-mounted sculpture. In the mid-1980s, he shifted his focus to large free-standing works, often in bronze. In the 1990s, he added a var ...
,
Roni Horn
Roni Horn (born September 25, 1955) is an American visual artist and writer. The granddaughter of Eastern European immigrants, she was born in New York City, where she lives and works. She is currently represented by Xavier Hufkens in Brussels an ...
,
Jessica Stockholder
Jessica Stockholder (born 1959) is a Canadian-American artist known for site-specific installation works and sculptures that are often described as "paintings in space."Kino, Carol"Go Ahead, Play With (And On) the Art,"''The New York Times'', ...
,
Ann Hamilton,
Matthew Barney
Matthew Barney (born March 25, 1967) is an American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography and drawing. His works explore connections among geography, biology, geology and mythology as well ...
,
Sean Landers
Sean Landers (born 1962) is an American artist. He is best known for using his personal experience as public subject matterHa, Paul, Cynthia Daignault and Michelle Reyes Landers, eds. Sean Landers: 1990–1995, Improbable History. Zürich: JRP, ...
, and Katsuhisa Sakai.
He joined the roster of New York's
Pace Gallery
The Pace Gallery is an American contemporary and modern art gallery with 9 locations worldwide. It was founded in Boston by Arne Glimcher in 1960. His son, Marc Glimcher, is now president and CEO. Pace Gallery operates in New York, London, Hong ...
in the 1970s, showing hand made wood sculpture in New York through the 70s and 80s. In the early 90s, facing cancer, he returned to painting, creating a final series of monochromes.
He died on October 5, 1992 in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
at the age of 72.
In 2012 the David von Schlegell retrospective at the China Art Objects Gallery in Los Angeles, included ''Five Birds'' from 1988. The retrospective was curated by
Mark von Schlegell,
R.H.Quaytman, and
Susan Howe
Susan Howe (born June 10, 1937) is an American poet, scholar, essayist, and critic, who has been closely associated with the Language poets, among other poetry movements. .
Personal life
In 1953 David married Mary W. Keep in
Ogunquit, Maine
Ogunquit ( ) is a resort town in York County, Maine. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,577.
Ogunquit is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Ogunquit, which means "beau ...
. They had four children, Lisa, Julia, Rosemary, and Anthony.
In 1966, David von Schlegell and Mary Keep separated and he moved to New York City. In 1967, he and poet
Susan Howe
Susan Howe (born June 10, 1937) is an American poet, scholar, essayist, and critic, who has been closely associated with the Language poets, among other poetry movements. had a child, writer
Mark von Schlegell. His step-daughter is
R H Quaytman.
Susan Howe
Susan Howe (born June 10, 1937) is an American poet, scholar, essayist, and critic, who has been closely associated with the Language poets, among other poetry movements. and David von Schlegell married in 1986.
Art
Sculptures
Inspired by his wartime experience as an aircraft engineer, he worked mostly with aluminum, steel, and wood. His indoor work was featured at many important exhibitions of the 1960s, and by the 70s he was a prominent public sculptor. His large scale works can be found in cities across America, including ''
Untitled (L's)
''Untitled (L's)'', a public sculpture by American artist David Von Schlegell, is located on the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis campus, which is near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. The sculpture is located just north of Joseph ...
'' on
IUPUI's campus.
Painting and drawings
In addition to sculpting, Von Schlegell also made paintings and drawings. After dedicating his ''Untitled (L's)'', he also had an exhibition in IUPUI's Lecture Hall and at the Herron School of Art displaying his photographs and drawings from the project.
Public Works
*''West End'', located in the
Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection, Albany, NY, 1966
*''Untitled'', Storm King Art Center, 1969-1970
*''Untitled Landscape'', I. M. Pei 's India Wharf Project, Boston, 1972
*''Marina'', a polished metal sculpture currently on long-term loan from Miami-Dade Art in Public Places from the J. Patrick Lannan Foundation.
*Voyage of Ulysses, Byrne-Greene Courthouse, Philadelphia, 1977
*Southern High School, Baltimore. 1977
*Purdue University, Indianapolis, 1978
*Godard Memorial, Clark University, Worcester, MA, 1979
*
''Untitled (L's'') A site-specific installation on the campus of
IUPUI, 1980
*''Untitled Landscape'', located in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, Massachusetts at India Wharf on the Boston waterfront.
*''Westward,'' Sawyer Point, Cincinnati, 1980
*''Northern Light,'' Pittsburg, 1982
*''Pilot's Memorial,'' Tulsa International Airport, Tulsa, 1984
*Fountain, Capitol Mall, Sacramento, 1985
*''Eagle'', Capitol Office Building, Hartford, 1989
*''Ascending Birds'', New Haven City Hall, 1989
See also
A David von Schlegell Timeline
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlegell, David Von
1920 births
1992 deaths
Artists from St. Louis
University of Michigan alumni
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
20th-century American sculptors
20th-century American male artists
American male sculptors
Art Students League of New York alumni
Yale School of Art faculty
Sculptors from New York (state)
Sculptors from Missouri