Artis Lane"Surreal Study" Male and Female Figures on a Branch, Colors, Mixed Media1985
1985
About the Item
- Creator:Artis Lane (1927, Canadian)
- Creation Year:1985
- Dimensions:Height: 30.5 in (77.47 cm)Width: 35.5 in (90.17 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Detroit, MI
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU128616153552
Artis Lane
For work that spans portraiture, oil painting and bronze sculpture, the Canadian artist Artis Lane draws from the spiritual and emotional aspects of human existence. Lane is a trailblazer: She was the first Black woman to be admitted to Cranbrook Academy of Art — a legendary institution within art, design and architecture — and her bronze bust of Sojourner Truth was the first statue of an African-American woman in the United States Capitol.
Lane was born in North Buxton, Ontario, in a town predominantly inhabited by the descendants of slaves who arrived in Canada by way of the Underground Railroad. As her artistic career developed, so did her interest in people of African descent as well as her ideas about the physical world and our bodies being vessels, capable of eventually taking on godly characteristics.
“Lane promotes the primacy of corporeal experience with sculptures that speak to Africa as the beginning of human life,” noted the University of Oklahoma’s Journal of Museum Studies in 2008. Her unique approach to depicting the journey between the physical and spiritual worlds has been to work outside the constraints of the traditional bronze finishing process, leaving the ceramic casing, wire and tubing used to cast it intact as part of the finished piece, whereby the wire is symbolic of bondage to the physical form.
Lane attended what was then called the Ontario College of Art (today, it’s the Ontario College of Art and Design University) on the Edith Chapman scholarship before studying painting at Cranbrook. She took an active role in the artistic communities in the various cities she lived in over the years. In New York and Los Angeles, she befriended actors Cary Grant and Diahann Carroll, and in Detroit, she painted commissioned portraits of auto industry executives to pay the bills. She would go on to paint portraits of many esteemed figures such as President John F. Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jordan and Aretha Franklin. Today, a sculpture Lane created of Rosa Parks is on display at the National Portrait Gallery.
Lane received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California African American Museum and an honorary degree from her alma mater, Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Find a collection of Artis Lane art on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Detroit, MI
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 14 days of delivery.
- "Self Portrait" Frontal Female, Mixed Media on Paper, Subtle ColorsBy Artis LaneLocated in Detroit, MI"Self-Portrait" is a stunning mixed media piece showing the vibrancy of the figure through the use of bold lines and placement of the blue and orange colors. The figure appears to be...Category
1980s Contemporary Mixed Media
MaterialsPaper, Mixed Media
- "Nude on Throne" Female, Frontal, Symbolism, Black & White, AbstractBy Artis LaneLocated in Detroit, MI"Nude on Throne" shows a beautiful strong young woman seated upon what appears to be a ancient throne. There are objects held by her and placed on her legs, one of which can clearly ...Category
Late 20th Century Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor, Mixed Media
- Ron Lukas Portrait "Annie Hall" Woody Allen Movie CharacterLocated in Detroit, MISALE ONE WEEK ONLY “Annie Hall” is a brilliant complicated mixed media piece composed of disparate parts and pieces that together make up a successful whole similar to the Woody All...Category
1970s Contemporary Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Mixed Media, Oil
- Cory Pohlman Mixed Media "Green Frosting" Pastry Chief Cranbrook MFALocated in Detroit, MISALE ONE WEEK ONLY "Green Frosting" is a luscious smear of green swirls and circles giving hint to Pohlman's future direction of becoming a Pastry Chef cake designer extraordinaire. This piece was painted during Cory's final year at Cranbrook Academy of Art. Cory is a cake decorator, artist, and designer working out of Los Angeles, California. Growing up in Southern California, she dreamt of being an artist and took advantage of every opportunity to learn about art techniques and history. She moved to Paris as a teenager and there found her second love in the Culinary Arts. The art of cake decorating connects our senses in new and meaningful ways. Playing with our food is one of the first forms of creative expression, creating bridges between our senses, as we attempt to master our surroundings. As adults, cake decorating encourages mindfulness. Through practice, like a calligrapher, you learn to master the sweet sticky medium. By taking the time to consider how to create beauty, we feed both our inner and outer selves. It requires breath and concentration and a healthy dose of humor. Here we can literally eat our mistakes! Her formal training began at Parsons School of Design in New York City, followed by an MFA in Painting from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. The Cranbrook Academy of Art was designed by architect and faculty member, Eliel Saarinen who collaborated with Charles and Ray Eames on chair and furniture design. Numerous creative artists who are alumni of Cranbrook include: Harry Bertoia, Florence Knoll, Jack Lenor Larsen, Donald Lipski, Duane Hanson, Nick Cave, Hani Rashid, George Nelson, Urban Jupena (Nationally recognized fiber artist), and Artis Lane (the first African-American artist to have her sculpture, "Sojourner Truth," commissioned for the Emancipation Hall in the Capital Visitor Center in Washington DC.) Cory Pohlman continued her education in the culinary field at Le Cordon Bleu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Board
- Kirk Roda "The Joke" Sculpture Anthropomorphic Treehouse SeriesBy Kirk RodaLocated in Detroit, MIDelicate, frightening, otherworldly are all descriptions that apply to these sculptures by artist, Kirk Roda. "The Joke" is an exploration of pure fantasy th...Category
2010s Contemporary Figurative Sculptures
MaterialsOrganic Material, Mixed Media
- "Jesse Owens - Long Jump Medalist", Mixed Media on PaperBy Artis LaneLocated in Detroit, MIThis mixed media on paper painting of Jesse Owens is from the seminal artist Artis Lane and is one of the many exquisite pieces done of historical figures and celebrities of seminal ...Category
Late 20th Century Mixed Media
MaterialsPaper, Mixed Media
- "Lavender, Blue, and Plaid, " Mixed Media Collage with Fabric, circa 1983By Jean OldsLocated in Long Island City, NYThis colorful abstract paper and fabric collage was created by American artist Jean Olds. Olds is known for her work with collages and flat mixed-media sculptures. This work in her t...Category
1980s Contemporary Mixed Media
MaterialsFabric, Paper, Mixed Media, Acrylic
- Angel Songs, bright red geometric pattern, work on paperBy Angela A'CourtLocated in New York, NYMixed media on paper. Framed: 15" x 18" My work comes from observation, memory and imagination. Collective daydreams that make another world out of this world--the experience of ‘in...Category
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
MaterialsPaper, Mixed Media
- Warm Shade, bright orange abstract print on paperBy Angela A'CourtLocated in New York, NYMixed media on paper. Framed: 15" x 18" My work comes from observation, memory and imagination. Collective daydreams that make another world out of this world--the experience of ‘in...Category
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
MaterialsPaper, Mixed Media
- Every Moment, brown and pink print of cups, work on paperBy Angela A'CourtLocated in New York, NYMixed media on paper. Framed: 15" x 18" My work comes from observation, memory and imagination. Collective daydreams that make another world out of this world--the experience of ‘in...Category
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
MaterialsPaper, Mixed Media
- Hunters, purple print of two hunters and their dogBy Angela A'CourtLocated in New York, NYMixed media on paper. Framed: 18" x 15.25" My work comes from observation, memory and imagination. Collective daydreams that make another world out of this world--the experience of ...Category
2010s Contemporary Mixed Media
MaterialsPaper, Mixed Media
- Work on Paper -- Soy Arere...By Alexis MendozaLocated in Troy, NYThis is a mixed media work on paper. The pictorial space is bifurcated in two, each space extending beyond the page. One space is a blend of blue and turquoise; the other space is ye...Category
Early 2000s Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsMixed Media, Paper