With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Elbert Weinberg
Education/Curation, Sculpture
1928 – 1991
A nationally known sculptor, Weinberg’s work has been displayed at MoMA in New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and the Wadsworth Atheneum. He designed the 1980 Holocaust Memorial in Wilmington, DE.
- Biography/Description of Work
Elbert Weinberg, born in Hartford, was valedictorian of his class at Weaver High School and later studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. In 1951, Weinberg, then 23, became the youngest recipient of the Prix de Rome, entitling him to study in Italy for two years. When Weinberg returned to Connecticut, he was invited by Joseph Albers to attend the Yale School of Art. He was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship in 1959 to return to Rome and the Sculpture Award from the American Institute of Arts and Letters in 1968. After eleven years in Rome, Weinberg returned to America and taught at Dartmouth College, and at Boston University. His early works were influenced by themes of mythology, religion and the Holocaust. In the mid-1950s, Weinberg created a group, ‘The Procession,’ which includes three parts – a figure carrying a Torah; a pair of reading figures with a prayer book; and a figure carrying a menorah. In the 1970s he created ‘Procession #2,’ which is on long-term loan at Beth El Temple. It occupies a prominent location on the front lawn, and represents the carrying of the Torah from the Ark. The monumental work is one of Weinberg’s largest and most complex projects.
- Sources view
- http://www.elbertweinberg.com/bio.html
http://www.lib.uconn.edu/libraries/art/connart/fullDisplay.cfm?ArtistID=3641
http://www.courant.com/business/hc-bearden-murals-move-hartford-connecticut-librar-20141002-story.html - Associated Resource(s)