The Hirshhorn Museum's sculpture garden provides a contemplative haven in the heart of Washington. More than sixty sculptures in a broad range of styles dating from the 1880s through the 1960s are displayed in it, while another dozen sculptures from the 1960s to the 1990s occupy the plaza around the museum building. Together the landscaped grounds form an outdoor gallery that is enjoyed by more than 340,000 visitors annually. In her introductory essay, Valerie Fletcher records the little-known history of the Hirshhorn Museum's garden and plaza, and provides a succinct overview of one hundred years of subjects and styles as represented in the Hirshhorn's sculpture collection. This is followed by sumptuous photographs of the sculptures and of the garden's changes through the seasons. Among the artists represented are Rodin, Bourdelle, Maillol, Matisse, Archipenko, Lachaise, Miro, Calder, Picasso, Smith, Moore, Kelly, Cragg, and Shea. Texts on the individual works address many of the comments made by visitors to the garden, from queries about Rodin's Burghers of Calais to wonderment at the celestial surprise hidden within Snelson's abstract Needle Tower.

A Garden for Art: Outdoor Sculpture at The Hirshhorn Museum

Arts & Photography

Fletcher, Valerie J.

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Thames&Hudson

Alberto Giacometti, 1901-66

Smithsonian Institution Press

Shows examples of Giacometti's drawings, paintings, and sculpture, and discusses his major themes and stylistic approaches to art

Alberto Giacometti, 1901-1966

Individual Artists

Smithsonian Inst. Pr.

Giacometti

Catalogue of the exhibition at the Hirshhorn Museum ans Sculpture Garden, december 8, 1983 - february 12, 1984. Profusely illustrated in color and black and white. Bibliography . 4to pp. 202 Brossura (wrappers) Molto buono (Very Good)

Dreams and Nightmares : Utopian Visions in Modern Art

History & Criticism

Smithsonian Institution

Between spring and winter 1909, Picasso executed more than sixty portraits of his companion, Fernande Olivier. These works--produced in a variety of formats and mediums--exhibit a range of artistic approaches dedicated to a single subject that stands out in the history of portraiture. Even more significant, this series of works coincided with the invention of Cubism. Published to accompany a major exhibition originating at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, this richly illustrated volume illuminates Picasso's radical reformulation of human physiognomy. 
Containing eighty-two color illustrations and sixty-eight duotones, the catalogue explores the Fernande portraits and related works as a single oeuvre culminating in the magnificent Head of a Woman (Fernande)--one of Picasso's rare pre-1912 excursions into sculpture. By so doing, it allows us to examine Picasso's process in an unprecedented fashion. What emerges is a new picture of the artist pursuing his subject with obsessive repetition and struggling to resolve artistic problems during a time of crisis in his work. Also included are previously unpublished studio photographs that offer further insight into the conceptual nature of the artist's process. The text narrates the internal development of the Fernande portrait series, situates it within the broader history of representation, and considers the powerful impact of Cézanne on Picasso's work during this period. 
Seizing a single extended moment in the early history of Cubism, this catalogue reveals Cubism's great achievement--its startling invention, its remarkable expressive power, and its profound formal and psychological implications for modern art. 
EXHIBITION SCHEDULE:
National Gallery of Art, Washington October 1, 2003 - January 18, 2004
Nasher Sculpture Garden, Dallas February 15 - May 9, 2004

Picasso: The Cubist Portraits of Fernande Olivier

Weiss, Jeffrey S.

National Gallery Of Art (u.s.)

PICASSO, Pablo

Nasher Sculpture Center

Tuma, Kathryn A.

Natl Gallery of Art

Isamu Noguchi: Master Sculptor

Scala Books

Elie Nadelman: Classical Folk is a fully illustrated catalogue that focuses on the figural sculpture of Elie Nadelman (1882-1946) reappraising the artist's distinct position within twentieth-century American sculpture. It details the artist's years in the United States (1914-1946), when he merged classical and folk art sources to create a unique fusion of past and present, traditional and modern, and high and low. The essays provide multiple perspectives on Nadelman's art. Curator Suzanne Ramljak examines Nadelman's achievements in the classical figural tradition, while an essay by Avis Berman examines the artist's involvement with folk art. Klaus Kertess writes on Nadelman's late plasters, and Valerie Fletcher focuses on the materials and working processes of the artist. Finally, the text is complemented by an illustrated chronology of the artist's biography with artistic milieus by Cynthia Nadleman, the artist's biographer and granddaughter.

Elie Nadelman: Classical Folk

Ramljak, Suzanne

American Federation of Arts

Berman, Avis

Frick Art & Historical Center

Kertess,klaus

Marion Koogler McNay Art Museum

Nadelman, Elie

Nadelman, Cynthia

Decorative Arts & Design

Amer Federation of Arts

This book presents an overview of the development of sculpture by artists who were inspired by the goals and methods of Surrealism. Surrealist Sculpture delineates a dialogue between the two dominant modes of sculpture that evolved in tandem within the Surrealist movement: found-object assemblages and nature-inspired biomorphism. The book offers a continuous narrative of contributions by both European and American Surrealist artists from the early 1920s through the early 1950s. Artists from France, Germany, Britain, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States established Surrealism as transnational from the outset. Key artists who incorporated found objects in their works include Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Salvador Dalí, Hans Bellmer, and Joseph Cornell. The biomorphists encompass Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Henry Moore, and Isamu Noguchi. In addition, Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder, and David Smith are highlighted for their game-changing innovations that influenced the evolution of modern sculpture. Nearly two hundred illustrations and a selection of historical texts accompany the insightful essay and chronology by Valerie Fletcher. Fans of Surrealism and those new to the genre will appreciate this book’s in-depth approach to its innovative and influential three-dimensional masterpieces.

Marvelous Objects: Surrealist Sculpture from Paris to New York

Prestel

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Books by Fletcher, Valerie J.