1884 – 2021
José de Creeft
1884 – 1982
1884
Born in Guadalajara, Spain
Raised in Barcelona from 1888.
1895
An apprentice at eleven
Makes small Nativity figures; trains in the workshops and foundries of Barcelona and Madrid.
1900
Madrid — the Querol workshop
Studies sculpture with Ignacio Zuloaga and drawing with Rafael Hidalgo.
1903
First exhibition
Shows at El Círculo de Bellas Artes, Madrid.
1905
Paris — Rodin and the Académie Julian
Rodin advises him to study formally. Takes a studio in the Bateau-Lavoir among Picasso, Juan Gris, César Vallejo, and Apollinaire.
1906
First prize for Torso
Wins the Académie Julian’s sculpture prize.
1911
The Maison Gréber
Works at the commercial carving workshop until 1914 — the method he will come to reject.
1915
Adopts direct carving
Rejects the mechanical mise aux points method and destroys his work in clay and plaster. Carves Enigma and his first direct stone head the next year.
1918
Le Poilu
Commission in the Puy-de-Dôme for an eighteen-foot granite figure dedicated to the French infantryman.
1925
Picador — sculpture from found metal
An equestrian figure assembled from chimney tubes and scrap. In 1926 Alexander Calder takes direct-carving lessons from him.
1927
Mallorca
Moves to Puerto Pollensa for a commission of more than two hundred sculptures at a fourteenth-century fortress.
1929
Marries Alice Robertson Carr; first U.S. shows
Solo exhibitions in Seattle and at the Ferargil Galleries, New York.
1930
Settles in New York
Takes a studio at 22 Minetta Lane, Greenwich Village.
1932
Begins teaching at the New School
Teaches there through 1948.
1938
Sculptors Guild; the Brooklyn Museum
Founding member of the Sculptors Guild; the Brooklyn Museum acquires Semitic Head.
1940
U.S. citizen; MoMA acquires Saturnia
A summer fellowship at Yaddo follows. The Whitney acquires The Cloud in 1941.
1942
Maternity wins first prize
In “Artists for Victory” at the Metropolitan Museum. The Whitney acquires Himalaya in 1943.
1943
Joins the Art Students League
Begins a teaching relationship that lasts, on and off, into the late 1970s.
1944
Black Mountain College — meets Lorrie Goulet
Invited by Josef Albers to teach the summer program. Marries Lorrie Goulet at the Ethical Culture Society of New York on November 12.
1946
The Hoosick Falls farm
Buys a farm in upstate New York; it becomes a summer studio and teaching center for years to come.
1948
Daughter Donna Maria born
Visiting instructor at Skowhegan; founding member of Artists Equity Association.
1951
Poet; Widener Gold Medal
Begins the granite Poet for the Samuel Memorial, Fairmount Park (finished 1956), and wins the gold medal at the Pennsylvania Academy.
1955
National Institute of Arts and Letters
Elected to membership.
1959
Alice in Wonderland, Central Park
The bronze tableau, commissioned in 1955 and designed to be climbed on, is dedicated on May 7.
1960
Whitney retrospective
His first major museum retrospective. The family moves to Rye, New York.
1964
Academician, National Academy of Design
Elected to full membership; later serves as vice-president.
1970
Joins Kennedy Galleries
In 1972 Jules Campos publishes the monograph Sculptures of José de Creeft.
1973
Order of Isabella the Catholic
Named Comendador in Madrid. In 1977 declared an “honored son” of Guadalajara, with a street named for him.
1980
Retrospective travels Spain
“La Aventura Humana de José de Creeft” tours Madrid and Guadalajara.
1982
Dies in New York
September 11, aged ninety-seven.
Lorrie Goulet
1925 – 2021
1925
Born in Riverdale, the Bronx
1933
A first teacher in childhood
Studies with the ceramicist Aimée Voorhees at the Inwood Potteries Studios, through 1938.
1936
First exhibition, at eleven
Takes part in a group show at the New York Museum of Natural History.
1940
Apprenticeship in California
After the family moves west, she apprentices to the ceramicist Jean Rose.
1943
Enters Black Mountain College
Studies drawing with Josef Albers and weaving with Anni Albers.
1944
Turns to sculpture — meets José de Creeft
Takes the summer sculpture class with the visiting José de Creeft. They marry at the Ethical Culture Society of New York on November 12.
1948
Daughter Donna Maria; first solo show
Her first solo exhibition, at the Clay Club / Sculpture Center. Begins showing in group exhibitions at the Whitney.
1949
Early recognition
Exhibits at Fairmount Park, Philadelphia; wins first prizes in Florida in 1949 and 1950.
1951
Solo show, Hoosick Falls
At the Cheney Library; group shows follow at the Metropolitan Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy.
1955
Solo show, Sculpture Center
Returns to the Clay Club / Sculpture Center, New York.
1957
Begins teaching at MoMA
Hired by Victor D’Amico to teach sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art’s People’s Art Center.
1958
First public commission
A ceramic relief for the New York Public Library, 173rd Street Branch, in the Bronx.
1959
The Contemporaries Gallery
Begins a series of solo shows there, continuing through 1968.
1961
Joins the New School faculty
Teaches there through 1975. Completes a ceramic relief for the Bronx Municipal Hospital.
1962
Sculpture on national television
Co-creates and stars in the CBS children’s series Around the Corner, through 1964.
1964
First prize, Westchester County Art Society
1968
Returns to New York City
Establishes a studio on West 21st Street.
1971
Kennedy Galleries; a civic relief
First solo show at Kennedy Galleries, with others through 1986. Completes a stainless-steel relief for the 49th Precinct in the Bronx.
1981
Joins the Art Students League
Teaches direct carving in stone and wood until 2004 — more than two decades.
1988
Carolyn Hill Gallery
Solo shows in 1988 and 1991; the art historian Karl Lunde writes the catalogue monograph.
1997
Richard Florsheim Foundation Grant
1998
“Fifty Years of Making Sculpture”
A full retrospective at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.
2001
Malvina Hoffman Award
Honored by the National Academy of Design.
2003
“Process”
A solo show at the Art Students League, New York.
2014
Late retrospective
Solo show at the Elizabeth V. Sullivan Gallery, Art Students League Vytlacil Campus.
2021
Dies in New York City
Her work is held in more than two dozen public collections.