Louise Nevelson

Louise Nevelson (1899–1988) was a Ukrainian-born American sculptor renowned for her monumental, monochromatic wooden assemblages. After emigrating from czarist Russia with her family in 1905, she was raised in Rockland, Maine, and later moved to New York City in the 1920s, where she studied at the Art Students League and, later, with Hans Hofmann in Munich and New York.

Nevelson began exhibiting in the 1930s, and by the 1950s she had developed her signature sculptural style, monochromatic constructions made from found wood and painted in black, white, or gold. Her breakthrough came with major acquisitions by institutions such as the Whitney Museum and MoMA, which helped establish her as a major force in postwar American art.

Merging elements of Cubism, Constructivism, and Abstract Expressionism, Nevelson’s work explored the psychological and symbolic potential of space, light, and shadow. Through her bold vision and innovative approach, she became one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th century, and a defining figure in the history of American modernism.