Artist: Nancy Graves (American, 1939-1995)
Title: "Rope Trap"
*Titled, signed, and dated by Graves (inscribed into the metal) on red cylinder lower right
Year: 1985
Medium: Original Bronze with Polyurethane Paint
Fabricator: Dick Polich and staff, Tallix Foundry, Peekskill, NY
Reference: "The Sculpture of Nancy Graves: A Catalogue Raisonné" - Carmean No. 207, page 157 (illustrated)
Dimensions: 56" high x 65" wide x 38" deep
Weight: approx. 250 lbs
Condition: Some minor cosmetic wear. In excellent condition
Notes:
This work will be included within the new upcoming comprehensive catalogue raisonné of painting, sculpture, drawing, and film by the artist being prepared by the Nancy Graves Foundation, Long Island City, NY.
Provenance: one owner ever - Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dubofsky/Dubofsky Family, Kings Point/Roslyn, NY; acquired from M. Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, NY in 1986; acquired directly from the artist, New York, NY. This work is unique, a one of a kind. It is entirely hand-painted by Graves. The work is inscribed approx. 13" high on the red cylinder: "ROPE TRAP" N. S. Graves 8-85 TX. The "TX" is the fabricator's stamp of Tallix Foundry, Peekskill, NY which was founded by Dick Polich (1932-2022). "Rope Trap" (checklist No. 1) and eight other sculptures, (Carmean Nos. 186, 188, 193, 210, 211, 223, 225, and 227, pages 145-167), were displayed at a special exhibition "Nancy Graves: New Sculpture" at M Knoedler & Co., Inc., New York, NY from December 7, 1985 - January 8, 1986. "Rope Trap" was made with direct casts, fabricated parts, sand casting, and polyurethane paint. This sculpture is an outdoor piece of one unit.
"One limitation of Graves's special polychrome patinas has been their vulnerability to weather. This, combined with her interest in making larger outdoor works, led her and (Dick) Polich to look for a safe, weatherproof, and brilliantly colored patina. Their search ended in the selection of polyurethane paint, which has now become her preferred method of patination for outdoor sculpture. The intensity of its pigmentation and its glossy, reflective qualities make the previous colored patinas seem muted. Not since Augustus Saint-Gaudens and other turn-of-the-century French and American sculptors favored gilded bronzes has an American sculptor pushed the limits of coloration in sculpture to this extreme." - The Sculpture of Nancy Graves: A Catalogue Raisonné - Carmean page 34.
"Nancy Graves is one of the truly remarkable art talents of the current generation. A protean creator, she has produced work of startling originality and beauty as a painter, graphic artist, filmmaker, and sculptor. From Graves's first three-dimensional work - her camels - to her most recent works in bronze, her sculpture has been innovative and influential not only for its aesthetic impact but also because it has stretched the boundaries of sculptural media. Graves's bronzes are composed of a variety of elements, many of which are cast from such natural, organic, and/or everyday objects as pretzels, sardines, leaves, and cooking scissors. These works are then colored through a combination of techniques - polyurethane paint, fired enamel, and patination - to an extent that is unmatched in the work of any other modernist sculptor." - The Sculpture of Nancy Graves: A Catalogue Raisonné - Carmean, left inside jacket.
