Barbara Ann Lekberg (née Barbara Ann Hult; March 19, 1925 – February 14, 2018) was an American sculptor.[1]

Barbara Lekberg
Born
Barbara Ann Hult

(1925-03-19)March 19, 1925
DiedFebruary 14, 2018(2018-02-14) (aged 92)
Other namesBarbara Hult Lekberg,
Barbara A. Hult Lekberg
EducationUniversity of Iowa,
SculptureCenter
Spouse
Victor Tamerlis
(m. 1956; died 1992)
ChildrenZoë Lund
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship

Early life and education

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Barbara Lekberg was born as Barbara Ann Hult on March 19, 1925, in Portland, Oregon.[1] Her mother was music teacher Mildred Anderson, and her father was in the family lumber business, Melvin Hult.[1] She spent her early childhood in Oregon, and later in Illinois and Iowa.[1]

Lekberg attended University of Iowa, studying sculpture under Humbert Albrizio [Wikidata], Philip Guston, and Mauricio Lasansky.[2] She graduated in 1946 with a B.A. degree in sculpture, and in 1947 with a M.A. degree in art history.[1] She moved to New York City in the late 1940s.[3] Lekberg studied at The Clay Club (now known as the SculptureCenter), under Sahl Swarz and learned how to weld steel sculptures.[1]

Career

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Her first solo exhibition was in 1959 at the SculptureCenter.[4] She made large figurative metal sculptors, often involving draped fabrics.[4] Lekberg taught classes at the University of the Arts, from 1981 to 2001.

She was a member of the National Academy of Design.[5] Lekberg was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship in fine arts two times (1957, 1959).[6]

Personal life

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In 1956, she married Victor Tamerlis, a rare-books dealer and together they lived in Greenwich Village.[1] They had a daughter born in 1962, Zoe Tamerlis Lund.[1] The short film Zoe Rising (2014), documented their daughter's life through the memories of Barbara Lekberg.[7]

Lekberg died on February 14, 2018, in a nursing home in the Bronx, after struggling with Alzheimer's disease.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Genzlinger, Neil (2018-03-03). "Barbara Lekberg, Artist With a Blowtorch, Dies at 92". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  2. ^ "Barbara Lekberg". Figge Art Museum. Archived from the original on 2021-08-30. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  3. ^ Delahanty, Patricia (Winter 2011). "Movement is in the Vibration Between the Figure and the Context, Barbara Lekberg". Sculpture Review.
  4. ^ a b Ashton, Howard Devreedore (March 6, 1959). "Art: Solo Show of Metal Sculpture; Welded Works by Miss Lekberg on View Primary Interest in Figures Revealed". The New York Times. p. 19. ISSN 0362-4331.
  5. ^ "All National Academicians (1825 - Present)". National Academy of Design. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  6. ^ "Barbara Lekberg". John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2021-08-30.
  7. ^ "Exclusive clip: 'Zoe Rising'". USA TODAY. January 22, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2021-08-30.