Sugarman, George, 1912-1999

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Sculptor, painter; New York, N.Y. b. 1912 d. 1999.

From the description of Oral history interview with George Sugarman, 1974 June 20-June 25. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 233007056

From the description of George Sugarman interviews, 1974 June 20-June 25. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 220190529

d. August 25, 1999.

From the description of Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. (Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)). WorldCat record id: 83339287

George Sugarman (1912-1999) was a sculptor and painter from New York, N.Y.

From the description of Oral history interview with George Sugarman, 1974 June 20-25 [sound recording]. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 495596735

George Sugarman (1912-1999) was a sculptor and painter from New York, N.Y.

Sugarman studied sculpture with Zadkine in Paris. He received the second prize for sculpture at the 1961 Pittsburgh International, and was one of the sculptors selected to represent the United States at the Sao Paulo Biennal in 1963. In 1960, Sugarman became a teacher in the graduate school at Hunter College in New York City.

From the description of George Sugarman papers, 1912-2001. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 744425546

Sculptor, painter; New York, N.Y.; b. 1912; d. 1999.

Sugarman studied sculpture with Zadkine in Paris. He received the second prize for sculpture at the 1961 Pittsburgh International, and was one of the sculptors selected to represent the United States at the Sao Paulo Biennal in 1963. In 1960, Sugarman became a teacher in the graduate school at Hunter College in New York City.

From the description of George Sugarman papers, 1912-2001. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 83835313

George Sugarman was a painter and sculptor who disliked labels because he believed they oversimplified the complexity of art, and Sugarman's artwork, like the artist himself, resists classification and oversimplification. Although he was influenced by Surrealist imagery, Cubist ideas of space, Baroque sculpture, and Abstract Expressionism, Sugarman's sculptures also display a musical quality, reflecting his interest in jazz music and improvisation. Sugarman was a pioneer in the use of color in sculpture and is probably best known for his large, polychrome aluminum sculptures.

Sugarman made the decision to become an artist relatively late in life. Born in New York on May 11, 1912, he studied at City College in New York and graduated with a B.A. in 1934. After serving in the United States Navy from 1941 until 1945, he attended evening classes at Museum of Modern Art. At the age of 39, George Sugarman traveled to Paris to study painting under the GI Bill of Rights. While in Paris, he decided to study sculpture with Ossip Zadkine and began creating wood carvings and terra-cotta sculptures. Over the next few years, Sugarman traveled to Italy and Spain, studying Baroque sculpture and architecture. He was particularly attracted to the work of Bernini and to Bernini's use of space.

Sugarman returned to New York in 1955 and began working with laminated wood. In order to support himself, he accepted a job teaching carpentry at a private school. He joined the Brata Gallery in 1957 and helped found the New Sculpture Group. A few years later, Sugarman received major recognition of his work by winning second prize in sculpture at the Pittsburgh International Exhibition. Sugarman went on to win a Longview Foundation Grant, a Ford Foundation Grant for his work at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In the 1960s, Sugarman began working on large painted-aluminum sculptures and completed his first outdoor sculpture at the Xerox Building in El Segundo, Calif. in 1969. Many of Sugarman's outdoor sculptures generated intense controversy, particularly his sculpture for the Edward A. Garmatz Federal Building and Courthouse in Baltimore, but he was devoted to his belief in the social as well as aesthetic importance of public art. Sugarman saw public sculpture as a "metaphor for the human condition" and as a way to transcend what he called the "indoor eye," the eye which views art in isolation from its physical and social environment.

Sugarman taught at the Graduate School of Hunter College in New York City from 1960 until 1970 and served as visiting Associate Professor at the Yale University Graduate School of Art from 1967 to 1968. Sugarman was a prolific artist, participating in numerous one-man shows, group exhibitions, and competitions all over the world, yet recognition of his talent came almost a decade later in the United States than in Europe. His works are in major collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. George Sugarman died on August 25, 1999.

From the guide to the George Sugarman papers, 1912-2001, (Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Roko Gallery records Archives of American Art
creatorOf Sugarman, George, 1912-1999. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
referencedIn Zabriskie Gallery records Archives of American Art
creatorOf Sugarman, George, 1912-1999. George Sugarman : artist file : study photographs and reproductions of works of art with accompanying documentation 1930?-1990 [graphic] [compiled by staff of The Museum of Modern Art, New York]. Frick Art Reference Library of The Frick Collection
referencedIn Sugarman, George, 1912- : [miscellaneous ephemeral material]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, Thomas J. Watson Library
referencedIn Roko Gallery records Archives of American Art
referencedIn James Matthew Auer photographs Archives of American Art
referencedIn Fischbach Gallery records Archives of American Art
referencedIn Sugarman, George : Biographical file. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
referencedIn Harold and Joyce Pomeroy Schwartz Public Art Archive, Bulk, 1976-2005, 1961-2009 Fales Library & Special Collections
creatorOf George Sugarman papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn [Lippincott, Inc. photographs] Archives of American Art
creatorOf Sugarman, George, 1912-1999. [George Sugarman : artist file] Detroit Institute of Arts Research Library & Archives, DIA Research Library & Archives
creatorOf Sugarman, George, 1912-1999. Artist file. Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives
referencedIn Ada Katz papers Archives of American Art
referencedIn Sugarman, George, 1912-1999. Artist file : miscellaneous uncataloged material. Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Oral history interview with Peter Agostini Archives of American Art
creatorOf Oral history interview with George Sugarman Archives of American Art
Relation Name
associatedWith Agostini, Peter person
associatedWith Auer, James. person
associatedWith Cummings, Paul, person
associatedWith Detroit Institute of Arts Research Library & Archives. corporateBody
associatedWith Fischbach Gallery. corporateBody
associatedWith Honegger, Gottfried, 1917- person
associatedWith Jaffe, Shirley, 1923- person
associatedWith Katz, Ada, 1928- person
associatedWith Kushner, Robert, 1949- person
associatedWith Kushner, Robert, 1949- person
associatedWith Lippincott, Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Pomeroy Schwartz, Joyce person
associatedWith Roko Gallery corporateBody
associatedWith Roko Gallery (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Sugarman, George, 1912-1999. person
associatedWith Zabriskie Gallery. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
New York (State)--New York
New York (State)--New York
New York (State)
New York (State)--New York
New York (State)
New York (State)
New York (State)--New York
New York (State)--New York
Subject
Art, American
Sculpture, American
Art
Painters
Painting, American
Sculptors
Sculptors
Sculpture, Modern
Sculpture, Modern
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1912

Death 1999-08-25

Americans

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