Baroque Sculptor Milton Hebald Returns to US for Harmon-Meek Exhibition
Milton Hebald, the award-winning contemporary baroque sculptor from New York City, has returned to United States at the age of 91 to partake in a special exhibition at the Harmon-Meek Gallery in Naples, FL. On view from November 4th to November 20th as part of the galleries 46th anniversary celebration, the show will also showcase the work of American masters Will Barnet, Robert Vickrey, Balcomb Greene, Robert Kipniss, Paul Jenkins, Herman Maril, Adolf Dehn, Jimmy Ernst, Robert Natkin, Eliot O'Hara, Byron Browne, Hunt Slonem, Richard Segalman, Richard Anuszkiewicz and Dan Rizzie.
Capriccio, by Milton HebaldPhotograph courtesy of Harmon-Meek Gallery
Established in Naples in January 1964 by Foster Harmon, the Harmon-Meek Gallery has been primarily interested in promoting the creativeness of certain American artists dating from 1920 to present. In 1972, J. William Meek, III joined the gallery as assistant-director and became director-owner in January 1978.
Hebald's acclaimed sculptures on view, in various mediums such as bronze, wood and terracotta, are inspired by the different forms of love: familial, platonic, romantic and erotic; ultimately conveying his unswerving faith in mankind by the humor and passion he molds into his forms.
After winning the Prix de Rome at the American Academy in 1953, Hebald settled in Bracciano, Italy. Remaining committed to his roots in New York, Hebald was commissioned for various public works for the city. In 1961 Pan Am commissioned Hebald to create a "Zodiac Screen" for their terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport, which at 220 feet was the largest sculpture in the world. Another notable Hebald sculpture is the iconic "Romeo & Juliet" bronze that stands in front of the Delacourt Shakespeare Theatre in New York's Central Park.
Hebald also has a great presence throughout the United States and abroad, including many public works in Los Angeles, Florida and Italy. Perhaps one of Hebald's most prized sculptures is the headstone he was commissioned to build by the family of James Joyce. As a scholar of Joyce and his works, Hebald's sculpture is a famed rendition of the prolific writer. The sculpture still rests on top of Joyce's grave in Zurich, Switzerland.
Hebald currently resides in the emerging arts community of Culver City, California, where he continues to sculpt in terracotta, producing several new sculptures each month. He recently donated a terracotta bust of the American poet, Walt Whitman, to the Culver City Senior Center, the location of his current studio.
Hebald is represented by the Harmon-Meek Gallery in Naples, a gallery that has represented him since 1969. The Harmon-Meek Gallery opens for the 2008 arts season on October 20th. Hebald will also have an exhibition in Los Angeles in 2009. Hebald's works can also be seen in the permanent collections of the Whitney and the Smithsonian.
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Also in this Issue:
- Sculptor J. Seward Johnson, Jr.: Life, Cast in Bronze
- The Metal Peddler: Keeping Tradition Alive
- The Little Copper Cookie Cutter That Could
- Rediscovering the Prints of Paul Revere
- Baroque Sculptor Milton Hebald Returns to US for Harmon-Meek Exhibition