"THE VINE" (1923)
American
Numerous statues of dancing women were produced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, inspired by the popularity of such dancers as the innovative American modern dancer Isadora Duncan (1898 - 1927) and the ethereal Russian classical ballerina Anna Pavlova (1882 - 1931).
Frishmuth used as her sculptural model the dancer Desha, a young Yugaslavian emigre, who is believed poised in a moment in her dance "Modernistic Tango". The graceful nude figure leans backward and upward in a sensuous movement of a living vine to complement the curving grape vine she suspends before her. The dancing figure, in combination with the twisting plant-forms, reflects the lingering Art Nouveau style.
Frishmuth studied in Paris under Rodin, Gauquier and Injalbert, and later in Berlin and New York. "The Vine" was awarded the Show Memorial Prize in 1923. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina have a casting of "The Vine". Frishmuth was a member of a new group of women sculptors who gained considerable attention for their work in America.
Just up this path is Harriet Whitney Frishmuth's sculpture, "Crest of the Wave,"
one of two pieces by the artist donated by the Will Anderson family of St. Paul, Minnesota
to the Como Park Conservatory where it is displayed.