Dora Gordine (8 June 1895 – 29 December 1991) was an Estonian Jewish
Modernist
Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...
figurative and portraitist sculptor. Her early career was influenced by the
Noor Eesti (‘Young Estonia’) group of artists who favoured
Art Nouveau. She moved to Paris and on her third marriage, to Hon. Richard Hare (1907–66), her career expanded to the extent that some critics regarded her as amongst the finest sculptors of her generation.
[In May 1925 Dora exhibited a Bronze (503) at the Salon Nationale (closed at the end of August 1925). "She gave her birthplace as 'Libau', her nationality as 'Esthoniene'...]
Dora Gordine
Estonian Jewish Museum. She specialized in portrait sculptures attracting international admirers from the political, social, artistic, literary and theatrical worlds. Her legacy also includes a number of public space pieces. Her latter career was not as prolific or as fêted and Gordine was relatively unknown at the time of her death. Major exhibitions in London in 2006 and 2009 have revived her standing and her former home is now a museum.
Early life
Dora Gordine's childhood has not been well documented. There is confusion over her date of birth with various dates 1895 (likely), 1898 and 1906 mentioned. She was the youngest of four children born to Morduch ("Mark") Gordin and Emma Ester Schepshelewitch, both Russian Jews, in
Liepāja, Latvia, at a time when it was still part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. Two of her siblings, Nikolai and Anna, died at the hands of the Nazis in
Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
in 1941. Another brother, Leopold, moved to London, where he lived until his death. The Gordin family evidently belonged to a comfortable middle class. There was money available to pay Gordine's elder brother, Leopold, to study engineering at
Edinburgh University
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...
. Later, it seems that Gordine's father was also prepared to pay for Gordine's elder sister, Anna, to study at one of Tallinn's leading art schools.
By 1912 the Gordin family had moved to
Tallinn, Estonia
Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...
. It is clear that Gordine's approach to sculpture was considerably shaped by the example of the pre-First World War
Noor Eesti
Young Estonia () was a neo-romantic literary group established around 1905 and led by the poet Gustav Suits and short story writer Friedebert Tuglas. Other members of the group included Villem Grünthal-Ridala and Johannes Aavik. Gustav Suits ar ...
(‘Young Estonia’) a group of artists who championed
Art Nouveau in the country. She exhibited bronze sculptures in Tallinn in 1917, 1920 and 1921. In the autumn of 1924 she went to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
to study a course in French civilisation, improving her knowledge of contemporary French sculptural practice. Then, surrounded by galleries and salons, she "instinctively felt a correlation between the rhythms of music and sculpture" and developed her sculptural vision. Gordin gallicised her surname by adding an "e" perhaps in an effort to make it sound more Russian and always denied or deflected suggestions that she was
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
.
In 1925 she worked as a painter on a mural for the British Pavilion at the
, in Paris. It provided the means to cast a bronze for exhibition at the Beaux Arts Society. The following year she was invited to exhibit at the
Salon des Tuileries The Salon des Tuileries was an annual art exhibition for painting and sculpture, created June 14, 1923, co-founded by painters Albert Besnard and Bessie Davidson, sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, architect Auguste Perret, and others.
The first year's e ...
where her design of the head & torso of a Chinese philosopher earned enthusiastic reviews; The Straits Times (1932) wrote: "Like Byron, one morning Dora Gordine woke up famous". Between 1929 and 1935 she sculpted bronzes for the
City Hall, Singapore
The City Hall in Singapore is a national monument gazetted on 14 February 1992. It can be found in front of the historical Padang and adjacent to the Supreme Court of Singapore, it was designed and built by the architects of the Singapore Munic ...
.
Leicester Galleries
Leicester Galleries was an art gallery located in London from 1902 to 1977 that held exhibitions of modern British, French and international artists' works. Its name was acquired in 1984 by Peter Nahum, who operates "Peter Nahum at the Leiceste ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
presented Gordine's sculpture in a solo show in 1928. It was a huge success and all her work was sold, amongst which was ''Javanese Head'' bought by
Samuel Courtauld for the
Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
collection.
Marriage
After a brief marriage to a Wladimir Rolw in Estonia, in 1930 she married Englishman Dr
George Herbert Garlick
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...
in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
. In 1936 she married her third husband, the Hon.
Richard Gilbert Hare
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
(5 September 1907 – 1966), son of
Richard Granville Hare, 4th Earl of Listowel
Richard Granville Hare, 4th Earl of Listowel (12 September 1866 – 16 November 1931), known as Viscount Ennismore from 1866 to 1924, was an Irish peer and British Army officer.
Lord Ennismore was the eldest son of William Hare, 3rd Earl of ...
and Freda Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone on 21 November 1936. Through her marriage she became part of a liberal aristocratic cultural elite. The independent income from Hare allowed Dora to build Dorich House in
Kingston Vale
Kingston Vale with Kingston Hill is a district in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in south-west London. It is a residential area between Richmond Park, the much smaller Putney Vale, Wimbledon and Putney Commons, Wimbledon Common, Coomb ...
, her studio and a showcase for her work. As well as, a showcase for their collections of Indian, Chinese and nineteenth-century Russian art and furniture.
Career
Her husband introduced her to London society figures, many of whom sat for her, Dame
Edith Evans, Dame
Beryl Grey
Dame Beryl Elizabeth Grey (née Groom; 11 June 1927 – 10 December 2022) was a British ballet dancer.
Early life
Born in Highgate, London, she began dance classes at the age of four while attending Sherbourne Preparatory School, and by age eig ...
,
Dorothy Tutin
Dame Dorothy Tutin, (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two ''Evening Standard'' Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and ...
,
Siân Phillips
Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips ( ), is a Welsh actress. She has performed the title roles in Ibsen's ''Hedda Gabler'' and George Bernard Shaw's '' Saint Joan''.
Early life
Phi ...
,
Emlyn Williams
George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor.
Early life
Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flints ...
, Sir
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Mackenzie Clark, Baron Clark (13 July 1903 – 21 May 1983) was a British art historian, museum director, and broadcaster. After running two important art galleries in the 1930s and 1940s, he came to wider public notice on television ...
,
John Pope-Hennessy
Sir John Wyndham Pope-Hennessy (13 December 1913 – 31 October 1994), was a British art historian. Pope-Hennessy was Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1967 and 1973, and Director of the British Museum between 1974 and 1976. ...
and Professor F. Brown, Head of the Slade School of Art. There were also overseas commissions including the ''Kwa Nin'', whose head sculpture Gordine called ''The Chinese Lady of Peace'' and a low-relief at
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...
to
Sun Yat-Sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
, the former leader of China.
Each portrait head had its own patina according to Gordine's vision of her sitter. When interviewed by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1972 Gordine commented that, ''"when you do portrait busts of somebody you do their noses and mouth – but it is nothing. You have to imagine what they are like inside and bring out their inner feeling and then put it in a form"''.
At the outbreak of
, Gordine's career was brought to a halt. She no longer had access to Valsuani's in Paris, her favourite foundry, and bronze quickly became rationed. All foundries in Britain were ordered stop all non-essential activity and concentrate on war production. It was not until late 1943 or early 1944 that she found a new foundry and was able to have some of her latest bronze work exhibited in the
in 1944. During the 1940s/50s Gordine's work was exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, the Society of Portrait Sculptors and elsewhere. In October 1945 she had a solo exhibition at the
described her as having ‘much ability, though she is eclectic in her inspiration, being influenced by works from many schools and periods – Indian and Egyptian among others. Her best works are her portrait heads in bronze which are convincing and straightforward.’ Bronzes from this time have ironic or humorous titles, relating to the pose, such as ''Great Expectations'' or ''Mischief'' and, of an RAF officer, ''Above Cloud''. She was elected a Fellow of the
in 1949. She occasionally did exotic or erotic pieces (e.g. for Elizabeth Choy). She travelled and lectured in
, working in Hollywood, art lecturing and designing film sets in 1947 and revisited the US in 1959.
In 1948 she was commissioned to produce a sculpture to stand in the new mother and baby unit at
in north London. ''Happy Baby'' was largely forgotten by 2009, languishing in an administration block at the prison for many years. Now regarded as an important piece in 'La Gordine's' professional history it formed the centre piece of an exhibition of her work at
in February–March 2009. Her work was also part of the
, which was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh. Gordine's last public commission, the 2-5 m (8') long ''Mother and Child'' was made for the entrance hall of the
, Surrey, in 1963.
Her husband's sudden death in 1966 from a heart attack left Gordine to live out her life alone in Dorich House. She had no children. As Gordine's client base became smaller and health problems undermined her ability to work to the standard she had during the 1920s, her eyesight deteriorated and she had arthritis in her shoulders and arms causing her career to end in the 1970s. She had a great interest in her garden and, in particular, herbs and plants used for medicinal purposes, such as Tansy.
were her part-time gardeners for nearly two years in the mid-seventies. She often invited the members of the
to Dorich house to pose for her. She died in Dorich House in December 1991, aged around 96.
In subsequent years her work was to be revived by major exhibitions in London in 2006 at the
.
Dorich House was designed by Gordine and completed in 1936. The name chosen for the house was a