Nevelson loved New York, describing the city as "my mirror." This sculpture composed of more than one hundred seemingly disparate but interconnected objects absorbs and emanates her spirit and that of her adopted home. Her largest work, it took thirteen years to complete and was unveiled on her eightieth birthday. The charismatic Nevelson is the "Mrs. N" of the title, the monarch of this massive structure that is both environment and monument, recalling grand memorials and tombs as well as intimate, private spaces. Nevelson was captivated by the beauty she found in discarded materials and urban detritus, tenderly composing, layering, and painting her "found objects" until they shed their skin, reborn as art. Here, it is forgotten things found by chance that together make up the whole—perhaps a metaphor for the city, even for life.
New York. Pace Gallery. "Nevelson: Recent Wood Sculpture," November 26, 1977—January 7, 1978, not in catalogue (shown on a separate floor in the gallery from this exhibition).
New York. Whitney Museum of American Art. "Louise Nevelson: Atmospheres and Environments," May 27–September 14, 1980, unnumbered cat. (p. 191; lent by the Pace Gallery, New York).
Charleston. Gibbes Museum of Art. "Spoleto Festival U.S.A.," May 20–September 15, 1983, no catalogue.
Jewish Museum, New York. "The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend," May 5–September 16, 2007, unnumbered cat. (pl. 45).
de Young Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend," October 27, 2007–January 13, 2008, unnumbered cat.
Hilton Kramer. "Art: A Nevelson Made to Last." New York Times (December 9, 1977), p. C17, ill.
Robert Hughes. "Art: Night and Silence, Who is There?" Time 110 (December 12, 1977), pp. 59–60, ill.
William Zimmer. "Nevelson's Palace." Soho Weekly News (December 15, 1977), p. 26.
Ellen Schwartz. "Two from Nevelson: A Stunning Chapel and a Palace for the Child in All of Us." Art News 77 (February 1978), p. 55.
Barbara Cavaliere. "Louise Nevelson." Arts Magazine 52 (February 1978), p. 32.
Hal Foster. "Reviews: New York." Artforum (February 1978), p. 68.
Hilton Kramer. "Art View: Nevelson's Dazzling Feats." New York Times (May 11, 1980), p. D31.
Grace Glueck. "Art: Whitney Turns Into Nevelson Land." New York Times (June 6, 1980), p. C19.
Diana Morris. "Nevelson: Giving Shape to the Collective Unconscious." Women Artists News 6 (Summer 1980), pp. 2–3, dates it 1950.
Edward Albee. "Edward Albee on Louise Nevelson: 'The World is Beginning to Resemble Her Art'." Art News 79 (May 1980), pp. 100–101, ill.
Laurie Wilson inLouise Nevelson: Atmospheres and Environments. Exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 1980, pp. 162–63, 175, ill. pp. 155–60, 164–67 (overall and details), 181 (diagram at Exh. New York 1977), 191.
Laurie Wilson. "Bride of the Black Moon: An Iconographic Study of the Work of Louise Nevelson." Arts Magazine 54 (May 1980), pp. 142, 147–48, figs. 35 (overall), 36 (detail).
Richard Marshall inLouise Nevelson: Atmospheres and Environments. Exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 1980, p. 11.
Edward Albee inLouise Nevelson: Atmospheres and Environments. Exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art. New York, 1980, pp. 29–30.
Laurie Wilson. Louise Nevelson: Iconography and Sources. PhD diss., City University of New York. New York, 1981, p. 224, figs. 190, 191.
Katya Bloom. "Spoleto Festival." Art Papers 7 (September–October 1983), p. 23.
Douglas C. McGill. "Louise Nevelson Giving 25 Works to Museums." New York Times (March 18, 1985), p. C17, ill. (detail).
Lisa M. Messinger in "Twentieth Century Art." Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 1985–1986. New York, 1986, p. 66, ill.
Kay Larson. "The Met Goes Modern: Bill Lieberman's Brave New Wing." New York Magazine 19 (December 15, 1986), p. 46.
Michael Brenson. "Large Spaces, Large Questions at The Met." New York Times (March 15, 1987), p. 36.
Matt Damsker. "The Met Goes Modern: New Wing a Treasure Box, Even If Collection Has Gaps." Hartford Courant (February 11, 1987), p. C7.
Theodore F. Wolff. "Metropolitan Museum of Art: Big Lift from a New Wing." Christian Science Monitor (February 2, 1987), ill. p. 25 (installation view).
Kathie Beals. "The Met Goes Modern with New 20th-century Wing." Courier-News (February 17, 1987), p. B-5.
Roger Bevan. "Museum Review: The Metropolitan Museum: a New Wing for Modern Art." Apollo 127 (January 1988), p. 41, ill. (installation view).
Brooke Kamin Rapaport inThe Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend. Ed. Brooke Kamin Rapaport. Exh. cat., Jewish Museum, New York. New York, 2007, pp. 23, 25, 210, figs. 26 (color), 27 (color), colorpl. 45.
Andrea K. Scott. "A Life Made Out of Wood, Metal and Determination." New York Times (May 9, 2007), p. E2, ill.
Jenni Sorkin. "Reviews: Louise Nevelson. The Jewish Museum." Modern Painters (September 2007), pp. 92–93, ill. (color).
Harry Jacob Weil. "Louise Nevelson. Jewish Museum, New York NY." ArtUS no. 19 (Summer 2007), pp. 54–55, ill. (color).
David Anfam. "Louise Nevelson: Jewish Museum, New York." Artforum 46 (October 2007), p. 366, ill. (color).
Johanna Ruth Epstein. "'The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson': The Jewish Museum." Art News 106 (Summer 2007), p. 190, ill. (color).
"A Star is Born." Modern Painters 19 (June 2007), p. 38.
Gabriel de Guzman inThe Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend. Ed. Brooke Kamin Rapaport. Exh. cat., Jewish Museum, New York. New York, 2007, pp. 185–86.
Mona Hadler. "Review. The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend." Woman's Art Journal 29 (Spring–Summer 2008), pp. 57–58.
Carol Diehl. "The World of Mrs. N." Art in America 96 (January 2008), pp. 110–11, ill. (color).
Matthew Palczynski. "Rothko and Architecture." PhD diss., Tyler School of Art, Temple University, 2011, p. 167, fig. 104.
Max Hollein. Modern and Contemporary Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2019, p. 8, ill. p. 120 (color).
Louise Nevelson (American (born Ukraine), Kiev 1899–1988 New York)
ca. 1972
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