LENORE TAWNEY | UNTITLED

Amy Wolf Fine Art, New York

Acquired from the above by the present owner in May 2010

“Moholy taught me to draw, when I thought I could not draw... Archipenko would have liked [my sculptures]…they showed his influence.”

(Lenore Tawney, as quoted in: Eleanor Munro, Originals: American Women Artists, New York 1979, pp. 326-330)

Lenore Tawney is a pioneering American fiber artist who, along with artists such as Anni Albers and Sheila Hicks, elevated the craft of weaving to a fine art. Tawney attended the Institute of Design, Chicago, studying under Alexander Archipenko and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, both of whom deeply influenced her practice. In the late 1950s, she moved to Coentis Slip, an old sea port at the tip of Manhattan, where she worked beside Ellsworth Kelly, Agnes Martin, Robert Indiana and others, all of whom were interested in capturing the delicate and ephemeral aspects of natural beauty. Tawney’s interest in natural patterns continued throughout her career and is reflected in the current lot, which incorporate found shells.