Artist Biography & Facts

Albert Wein

The following biography is from Mark H. Yellen, grandson of the artist:

Albert Wein was born in 1915 in New York City.  He studied at the Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts, and later at the Beaux-Artes Institute of  Design in New York.  His teacher, Hans Hoffman, educated Wein on the modern theories of art.  Wein practiced art as both a painter and a sculptor, but it was his sculpture that gained him recognition.

In the 1930's, he worked for the WPA (Work's Project Administration) and in 1946, won the Prix de Rome, a distinguished award which allows artists to study at the American Academy in Rome. While Wein studied in Europe, he became increasingly inspired by the classical art of Italy.

After returning to the United States, Wein received the Tiffany award for the sculpture Demeter. In addition, Phyrne before the Judges was chosen to be placed at the Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.  Both of these sculptures were designed while Wein was at the American Academy in Rome.

Later in the 1950s and 60s, Albert Wein followed the trend towards abstraction but returned to figurative work in the 1970s.  At that time he received a commission for the Libby Dam relief (1973), the largest granite relief in the United States.  While his abstract works are well received, Wein felt that he had more to express by returning to figurative work, and was able to incorporate the formal design qualities that exploring pure abstraction for nearly twenty years had given him.

Wein received almost every award possible for a figurative sculptor.  In 1989, he received a fellowship, grant and residency at the Rockefeller Foundation's Study and Conference Center in Belie, Italy.  In late 1990, he completed one of the medals for Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina.  Shortly thereafter he discovered that he had cancer and died after a brief illness on March 30, 1991.

Albert Wein was born in New York in 1915 and was the only son of an accomplished woman artist, Elsa Wein.  Her influence and intense commitment to nurturing the young Albert's seemingly insatiable appetite for artistic expression had a profound effect on the developing artist.  He built upon this artistic foundation for the rest of his life.

To say that Albert Wein was a child prodigy is no mere boast.  In 1927, when Albert was just twelve years old, Elsa Wein, "a true studio mother", moved the family to Maryland so she could enroll the budding young artist, Albert, and herself, into the Maryland Institute College of Art, a school that adhered to a curriculum of "academic based Classicism."  At the time of his enrollment, Albert Wein was the youngest student ever to enroll in the college Art courses at the Maryland Institute.

After more than a year of "rigid" instruction, the 1929 Stock Market crash (and resulting economic impact it had on the Wein family) put an end to his studies at the institute.  The family was forced to return to New York City to seek alternative employment.

In 1929, at the age of 14 while attending high school in the Bronx, in New York City, Wein registered for night classes at the National Academy of Design and sought out study in the Life Drawing Class of the well-known American Impressionist painter, Ivan Olinsky.  At first, Olinsky's reaction to the request was not favorable because at the time no 14-year-old student had ever been admitted into a Life Drawing Class at the National Academy.  This was due in part to the obvious age requirements in working with live models.  Olinsky, after meeting personally with the serious young applicant, reviewed his work and at once recognized Wein's artistic talent and made an exception for him.  Albert Wein once again became the youngest attendee among his peers in an advanced art class.

Early in 1932 Wein enrolled in classes at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York City where he expanded upon his academic education in sculpture while studying under some of the most prominent practitioners in their field.  The Beaux Arts Institute was a school modeled after the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in France and the curriculum (among other things) prepared students for national competitions in the architectural application of their work.  This early architectural based training proved to be invaluable throughout Wein's career as it applied to the large-scale public projects he would later produce.

In 1933, Wein's early inclination towards the modernist art movement that was sweeping America and the rest of the art world led to his decision to enroll in the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts at 444 Madison Avenue in New York City.  At the time he enrolled, Wein was very aware that Hans Hofmann was regarded as one of the most respected leaders in the forefront of modernism and eagerly anticipated Hofmann's instruction.  It was around this time that Wein, building upon his early unprecedented training in the classical tradition, sculpted "Adam," an early cubist influenced modernist masterwork.  This work was a precursor to what would become his signature modernization/stylization of the classical form. In fact, Albert Wein was once quoted as saying that the main thrust of his work was "to modernize and stylize the classical tradition".

In 1934, at the age of 19, Wein took a pay-cut from his secular job as an artist working for an advertising company in New York City to join the WPA.  This was an extremely productive period for him and he was able to produce many fine works for both private commissions and award winning national competitions. The works of this period gained him widespread recognition among collectors and fellow artists.

Among the many honors and awards bestowed upon Albert Wein during his illustrious career included those of the coveted Prix de Rome, the highest award in art, "likened to that of the Nobel Prize" the Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, the Rockefeller Foundation grant for study and more.   He also participated in the "watershed" exhibition, "American Sculpture" in 1951 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  "American Sculpture" is considered by many to be one of the most important early exhibitions of modernist sculpture in America.

In 1979 Wein was elected to full Academician of the National Academy of Design, one of the highest honors an American artist can receive.  During his prodigious career he won every major prize available in exhibitions held at the National Sculpture Society and the National Academy of Design, the two leading art institutions of the day.

Some of his important commissions include those for the Brookgreen Gardens, (the world's largest outdoor Sculpture Garden) Steuben Glass Co., The Bronx Zoo, The Franklin Mint and The Libby Dam bas-relief on the Kootenai River in Montana, to name just a few.  The latter work, Wein's Libby Dam project, was a massive artistic and engineering accomplishment. The three-story sculpture that Wein created is the world's largest granite bas-relief carving, weighing some 70 tons.  It took a team of men working under his direction, three years to complete.  The Libby Dam bas-relief "has been likened by critics to other sculptures in the U.S. grand tradition such as Daniel Chester French's seated figure of Abraham Lincoln in Washington, Gutzon Borglum's Mount Rushmore and Paul Manship's gilded bronze statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center Plaza."

Wein, in addition to being a noted sculptor, was also a prolific easel painter who painted in a purely Abstract Expressionist style.  He approached painting much the same way he did his sculptural work, from a sound academic based foundation that gave him the legitimacy and freedom to express his modernist views. 

He was also unique as a twentieth century artist because of achieving a balance between the extremes of Classicism and Modernism.  His sound foundation of academic training provided the basis for the stylized, modernistic approach that set him apart from his contemporaries.

Wein Felt that "every good work of art is a good abstract composition" or could at least be represented by one.  That the subject, devoid of details, and pared down to only what is necessary to convey the "essence" of the composition is what really mattered in a truly great work of art.

Albert Wein unexpectedly passed away in March of 1991, leaving behind a legacy of spectacular works that have universal appeal in part because of his unique ability to forge a union between centuries of artistic style.

Gordon Friedlander - close friend and son of Albert's artistic mentor, Leo Friedlander, the 21st president of the National Sculpture Society, stated eloquently: "Albert's work will live on and will endure." 

Born in New York in 1915, Albert Wein was the only son of an accomplished woman artist, Elsa Wein.  This early influence had a profound effect on the creative course that the then young Wein would follow.

When Albert Wein was twelve years old, Elsa Wein, a "studio" mother enrolled the two of them into the Maryland Institute, a school that adhered to a curriculum of academic based Classicism.  These early influences in the classical tradition formed an impression that would last him the rest of his artistic career.  In fact, Albert Wein was once quoted as saying that the main thrust of his work was "to modernize and stylize the classical tradition".

The 1929 Stock Market crash put an end to his studies at the institute and caused the family to return to New York.  While attending high school in the Bronx, Wein registered at the National Academy of Design taking up study under the well-known painter Ivan Olinsky.

By 1932, Wein enrolled in classes at the Beaux-Arts Institute in New York where he expanded upon his academic education in sculpture while studying under some of the most prominent practitioners in their field.

Wein's inclination toward modernization and stylistic composition in his work was made manifest when he decided to enroll in the painting class of Hans Hofmann, regarded as one of the most respected leaders in the forefront of modernism.  It was around this time that Wein sculpted Adam, an early powerful modernist work that revealed what would become his signature stylization of classical tradition.

In 1934, he took a pay-cut to join the W.P.A. during which time he was able to produce many fine works for both commission and competition.

Among the many honors and awards bestowed upon Albert Wein during his illustrious career included those of the coveted Prix de Rome, the highest award in art, likened to that of the Nobel Prize in literature, the Tiffany Foundation Fellowship, the Rockefeller Foundation grant for study and more.  He also was included in the "watershed" exhibition American Sculpture, 1951 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  In 1979, Wein was elected a full Academician of the National Academy of Design, the highest honor an American artist can receive.  During his prodigious career he won every major prize given at exhibitions at the National Sculpture Society and the National Academy of Design.

Some of his important commissions include those for the Brookgreen Gardens, (the world's largest outdoor Sculpture Garden, Steuben Glass Co., Bronx Zoo, Franklin Mint, and the "Libby Dam" bas-relief to name just a few.  The latter work, Wein's Libby Dam project, was the largest granite bas-relief ever created, weighing some 75 tons and taking several years to complete.  This work "has been likened by critics to other sculptures in the U.S. grand tradition such as Daniel Chester French's seated figure of Abraham Lincoln in Washington, Gutzon Borglum's Mount Rushmore, and Paul Manship's gilded bronze statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center Plaza".

Wein's modernistic approach is also manifest in his paintings and related works.  He approached painting much the same way he did sculpture, from a sound academic based foundation that gave him the legitimacy and freedom to express his modernistic views.  His paintings have been widely exhibited and have gained him much notoriety, with critics lauding his ability to achieved a balance between the extremes of Classicism and Modernism.  His sound foundation of academic excellence provided the basis for his stylized, modernistic approach.

Wein Felt that "every good work of art is a good abstract composition" or could at least be represented by one.  That the subject, devoid of details and pared down to only what is necessary to convey the "essence" of the composition is what really mattered in an artistic work.

Albert Wein passed away in March of 1991.  He left behind a legacy of works that express his goal of forging a union between centuries of artistic styles.

Gordon Friedlander - friend and former 21st president of the National Sculpture Society stated eloquently: "Albert's work will live on and will endure." These sculptures have already passed the test of time - the true measure of the worth of all creative people."

As Prix de Rome winner in 1947, Albert Wein, N.A. is most recognized for his modernist approach to a relatively traditional classical canon.  His infatuation with the female form coupled with his innate ability to transcend the hard qualities of bronze to create works which were considered balanced and delicate, place him as a classical modernist amongst his contemporaries.  Many of his greatest works were to be cast in lifetime editions of 12, but due to his untimely death, most editions were never fully produced. I n fact, several only saw 5 or few casts.

Like other notable modernists, his style dramatically changed over his oeuvre, making amends for certain artistic styles and themes concurrent with the times.  His earliest works heavily reference the W.P.A. style of massive, powerful figures, while his works dating from the late 1940's reveal a softer, perhaps more mindful approach towards the human form; a style he would later return to in the 1970's.

Wein won the Prix de Rome in 1947, giving him the opportunity to see firsthand, the Italian Renaissance Masters' sculptural ingenuities.  Even during his most abstract periods of the 1950's and 1960's Wein's utilization and adaptation of the classical form is evident.

In addition to winning the 1947 Prix de Rome, Wein won every major award given at the National Academy and the National Sculpture Society.  In the mid-1950's he was awarded the Tiffany Foundation Fellowship and in the 1980's, as a fully matured artist, he was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation grant in Italy.

His notable and varied exhibition history including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney.  Wein's work is also in some of the most recognized private modern collections in the US.

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