Description:

Lin Emery (American/Louisiana, 1926-2021), "St. Gertrude", painted plaster, unsigned, h. 21 in., w. 5 in., d. 3 in., mounted on wood board, overall h. 30 1/2 in., w. 13 in., d. 3 3/4 in. Note: “I have a very deep belief not in any practiced religion but in the search for unity and spiritual understanding.” – Lin Emery In 1951, Lin Emery returned to New Orleans, where she had briefly lived in 1945, and worked as a studio assistant with Enrique Alferez. She undertook numerous commissions in plaster, clay and bronze of life-size religious figures for churches in the city and throughout the region. One such example of St. Gertrude the Great in Des Allemands, Louisiana from 1956 measures twelve feet by eight feet. The figures are classical in inspiration with modern lines and a fluidity of form that would come to define the artist. The study offered here of St. Gertrude is for an installation at St. James Major Church on Gentilly Boulevard in New Orleans. Emery completed six sculpted figures of saints mounted above the altar in the sanctuary that are still in place today. In the evolving art world of the 1950s, Emery’s interests turned away from her figurative and religious work as she moved into abstraction and favored metal as a medium. She remained active in New Orleans the rest of her life and was an engaged member of the city’s contemporary art scene, serving as one of the founders of the Orleans Gallery in 1956 and as a co-founder of the Contemporary Arts Center of New Orleans. This rare early study is an exciting window into development of the renowned sculptor and as she herself said of her earlier sculptures: “I was looking for an essence, an interior and searching for understanding.” Ref.: Kemp, John R. Lin Emery. 64 Parishes. www.64parishes.org. Accessed July 24, 2023; Palmedo, Philip F. Lin Emery. Manchester: Hudson Hills, 2011.

  • Condition: If Condition is NOT stated in the description of the lot, the absence of a condition report does not indicate the lot is free of damage or condition issues. Available Condition Reports will appear as an additional image. Condition Reports and photographs may be requested on items until the Wednesday prior to the auction. Bid accordingly. All sales are final, no returns are accepted on the basis of condition.

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September 8, 2023 1:00 PM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US

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