Jacques Lipchitz and Philadelphia

Produced to accompany the exhibition Jacques Lipchitz and Philadelphia that will be held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art from June 27 to August 22, 2004, this publication examines the special relationship between the city of Philadelphia and Jacques Lipchitz (1891-1973), one of the most acclaimed and innovative sculptors of the twentieth century. The artist's involvement with the city spanned more than 50 years, beginning in 1922, when he was commissioned to execute bas-reliefs for The Barnes Foundation building in nearby Merion, and culminating in 1976, when Lipchitz's monumental sculpture Government of the People was posthumously unveiled near City Hall. During the last three decades of his life, following his move to the United States in 1941, Lipchitz was a frequent visitor to Philadelphia, where he received major commissions for public sculpture, was twice honoured by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and had an important retrospective exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Ar