Their lives were always destined to become intertwined. An artist in his own right, Sanford Hirsch knew of painter Adolph Gottlieb even before their chance meeting on the streets of Manhattan. And now, Hirsch will give an inspiring lecture about the man who changed his life.
Adolph Gottlieb: Sculptor — Lecture by Sanford Hirsch
September 27 5:30 p.m.
UMMA
Free
Hirsch, the Executive Director of the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, claimed his obsession with Gottlieb began long before their introduction.
“He was already very famous,” Hirsch said. “When I was young and coming up, he was very well known.”
In truth, Gottlieb had already established a reputation as an innovator in the Abstract Expressionist movement by the 1930s and was a founding member of the artist group known as “The Ten,” which formed in 1935. By 1945, his success skyrocketed with the Guggenheim Museum purchasing 11 works of art. The Guggenheim, along with the Whitney Museum, eventually became the locations for his retrospective exhibition — making him the only artist to fill both museums simultaneously.
In 1967, at the age of 64, Gottlieb found himself with more success than he had ever thought possible.
“He needed to be challenged — try something he had never tried,” Hirsch said.
So Gottlieb moved on to a new medium: sculptures. Though they only formed a short period of his career, Gottlieb’s sculptures will be expanded upon in Hirsch’s lecture.
Hirsch will also discuss Gottlieb as a person and the things that were important to him, in addition to his life as an artist.
“I intend to give an overview of his whole career and convey who he was as a historical figure,” Hirsch said. “I’ll try to give a general understanding — no art-speak.”
Hirsch is certainly a qualified candidate to deliver the lecture, as he has written extensively on the artist and even helped to set up the foundation.
“At the time, I was an artist myself and I wanted to use the year (1976) to work,” Hirsch explained. “But the opportunity was too important to walk away from.”
More than 37 years later, Hirsch has continued to work tirelessly as the executive director of the foundation, even helping to set up a grant program for what he called “artist emergencies.” This can include a number of catastrophic events, like fires or floods, which may destroy an artist’s studio.
Despite working for the foundation for so many years, Hirsch’s passion has never waned.
“There’s always some new challenge, some new set of circumstances for organizing an exhibit,” he said. “It’s very rewarding.”