Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880 – 1980)
Sweet Grapes, 1927-1928
Bronze with greenish-brown patina
18 ¾ H. x 4 ¼ W. x 4 ¼ D. inches
Inscribed ‘©HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH/1928’ (on back of base)
Inscribed ‘GORHAM CO FOUNDERS QGAF’ (along the back of base)
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Longing, 1929
Bronze, dark brown patina
15 ¾ H. x 4 ¾ W. x 5 ⅜ D. inches
Signed and dated on base:
HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH 1929
Stamped on base:
Gorham Co. Founders / QHBV
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Rhapsody, 1925
Bronze, dark brown and green patina
11 ¾ H. x 8 ⅛ W. x 5 D. inches
Signed on base: HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH / © 1925
Stamped on base: GORHAM CO FOUNDERS QFGT
Mounted to period marble base: 1/2 inch height
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Crest of the Wave, 1925
Bronze, dark green and brown patina
21 H. x 4 ¾ W. x 5 D. inches
Signed on base: HARRIET W FRISHMUTH © 1925
Stamped on base: GORHAM CO FOUNDERS QFHL
Mounted to black Belgian marble base
Overall height: 22 1/8 inches
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Joy of the Waters, 1917
Bronze, light green and brown patina, 61 H. x 18 W. x 14 ¾ D. inches
Signed: Harriet W. Frishmuth SC / 1912 [sic] (on self base)
Marked: Roman Bronze Works, Inc (edge of self base)
Provenance:
Graham Gallery, circa 1978
Private collection, Closter, New Jersey
Estate of above, 2018
Graham Shay 1857
Private collection, Connecticut
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880–1980)
Curiosity (Centerpiece Flower Holder), 1921
Bronze, dark green and brown patina
10 ¼ H. x 8 ⅞ W. x 4 ⅛ D. inches
Signed and dated (left side of base):
ⓒ 1921 / HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH
Foundry mark (rear of base, left):
IDEAL CASTING CO. PROV. RI
Edition of three castings, all executed at the Ideal Casting Company, Providence, Rhode Island
Modeled and cast in 1921
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Figural Lamp Base, 1911
Bronze, dark green and brown patina
Modeled sculpture: 17 ½ H. inches
Lamp fixture: 15 ½ H. inches
Overall height: 33 ¼ H. inches
Signed: HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH. / COPYRIGHT 1911
Stamped: GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS / GORHAM CO. Q2YO / Gorham cipher
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Reflections, 1930
Bronze fountain, brown and green verdigris patina
56 ½ H. x 18 W. x 14 D. inches
Signed on base: HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH © 1930
Stamped on base: ROMAN BRONZE WORKS INC
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880–1980)
Spread Eagle, 1910
Bronze, dark brown patina
9 H. x 23 ¾ W. x 14 ½ D. inches
Signed on base: copyrighted / Harriet Frishmuth
Stamped on base: Gorham Co. Founders / QEX
Edition of 17
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880–1980)
Desha, 1927
Bronze, 14 ⅝ H. inches
Signed on base:
HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH 1927
Stamped on base:
Gorham Co. Founders QFSK
Mounted to original marble base
Harriet Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Laughing in Waters, 1929
Bronze, dark brown patina
11 ⅜ H. x 6 ½ W. x 4 ¼ D. inches
Signed and dated on base:
HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH 1929
Stamped on base: Gorham Co. Founders QGOH
Edition of 61 casts, Gorham 43 / RBW 18
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
The Vine, 1929
Bronze, 11 1/4 H. inches
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
American 1880–1980
Allegra, 1929
Bronze, 11 1/4 H. inches
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Scherzo, 1929
Bronze, 23 1/4 H. inches
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Sweet Grapes, 1928
Bronze, dark brown and green patina
19 ½ H. x 4 ¾ W. x 5 D. inches
Signed on base: © HARRIET W FRISHMUTH / 1928
Stamped on base: GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS
Edition of 26 casts
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Ruppert Eagle, 1911
Bronze, dark brown patina
17 ⅜ H. x 18 W. x 13 ¼ D. inches
Signed on base: HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH / Copyright 1911
Stamped on base: GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS
This model also referenced: Small American Eagle
Edition of 8 casts
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Crest of the Wave, 1926
Bronze, brown and green verdigris patina
66 H. x 16 W. x 15 D. inches
Signed and dated on base: HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH
Stamped on base: GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS / QFMP
Edition of 22
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Joy of the Waters, 1920
Bronze, brown patina and verdigris
44 H. x 10 W. x 12 D. inches
Inscribed ‘HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH Sc./© 1920’
Stamped ‘GORHAM CO. FOUNDERS/QBKX’ along the base
Harriet W. Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980)
Joy of the Waters Fountain, 1920
Bronze, dark brown patina
43 ½ H. x 9 W. x 11 ¼ D. inches
Signed on base: HARRIET W. FRISHMUTH SC / © 1920
Inscribed on base: THE GORHAM CO FOUNDERS
Harriet W. Frishmuth is celebrated for her decorative bronzes and garden sculpture of supple, athletic young women who embody the feeling of youthful vigor and joy. She was born into an upper-middle-class Philadelphian family in 1880. At an early age, Frishmuth moved to Europe and remained there for many years with her mother and two older sisters, where she became a proficient piano player and contemplated a career in music. It was not until she met an American woman sculptor in Switzerland that Frishmuth made her first attempts at modeling. At age nineteen, Frishmuth enrolled in a modeling class in Paris where Auguste Rodin visited biweekly and singled out Frishmuth’s work on occasion. Encouraged by her progress, Frishmuth transferred six months later to the Académie Colarossi in order to receive more regular study.
Frishmuth made her first debut in 1903 at the Salon with a portrait bust of a woman. Soon afterwards, she moved to Germany for two years and then returned to the United States where she settled in New York and took classes at the Art Students League under sculptors such as Gutzon Borglum and Herman Atkins MacNeil. Finally, in 1908 Frishmuth set up her own studio in New York and in 1910 received her first commission: a portrait relief of Dr. Abraham Jacobi for the New York County Medical Society. The first major showing of Frishmuth’s work occurred in 1912 at Gorham Galleries on Fifth Avenue in New York City in a group exhibition with numerous other outstanding women sculptors such as Anna V. Hyatt, Gertrude V. Whitney, Carol Brooks MacNeil and Enid Yandell.
Frishmuth soon turned her attention to the female figure and to garden sculpture. One of her first large garden fountains was Girl with Fish Fountain (also called Young Girl with Fish) which characterizes her prevailing style over the next twenty years. These formal elements include: raised heels, ankles and knees demurely pressed together, shoulders delicately hunched, elbows pulled into the body, and hand bent back with fingers splayed—all of these elements convey messages of coy femininity, vulnerability, and an undeniable measure of self-absorption.
Like many other artists of the time, Frishmuth mostly used professional models, particularly dancers, because they could hold difficult poses at length. But unlike many other artists who used models merely for reference, Frishmuth found inspiration in each model’s personality, which are often reflected in her completed works. She used models of both sexes, but her principal model was a Yugoslavian born dancer, Desha Delteil, who was known professionally as Desha. Frishmuth first hired Desha in 1916 to pose in studio classes that she taught and by the end of the decade, Frishmuth started using Desha for her own work. The dancer had an extraordinary ability to hold interesting poses, even if just for a moment and could duplicate them again on command. Desha had a beautifully proportioned body and could express motion even in her still poses.
In 1928 Gorham Galleries published Famous Small Bronzes, an illustrated hardcover catalog of decorative and garden sculpture cast by Gorham Company Founders which were sold at the Fifth Avenue gallery and by mail order. The great popularity of Frishmuth was evidenced by the fact that nine of her sculptures were represented in the catalog, which was more than twice the representation of any other sculptor. Both the 54-inch and 23-inch models of Playdays were included in the catalog and the 54-inch model was the highest priced work in the catalog offered at $ 3,000.