William & Marguerite Zorach
Pioneering American Modernists
For over 50 years, William and Marguerite Zorach were an integral part of the Twentieth Century American art scene. From the time they met in Paris in 1911 to well into the 1960s, they were considered inseparable, referred to collectively by friends and patrons alike as "the Zorachs".
The early years spent in Paris along with a handful of other American artists, inspired their mutual creative vision. They began as Fauvists, then experimented with Cubism. Their combined talent paved the way for an upheaval in New York City's art world that came to be known as Modernism. Their works included watercolors, oils, embroideries and hooked rugs, murals, set design, bronze sculpture as well as direct carving in wood and stone.
William became intrigued with sculpting as well as painting and was one of the first artists to become interested in direct carving (as well as one of its foremost proponents). In contrast to most earlier sculptors, direct carvers kept preliminary studies to a minimum and worked with a wider variety of wood and stone materials. Often they let the colors, shapes, and textures of these materials inspire and guide their work. They simplified their sculpture, emphasizing form over detail. They sought inspiration from new sources such as archaic Greek sculpture, "primitive" art, and folk art. As a result of these innovations at the time, their works felt very modern, refreshing, expressive, and evocative.
Marguerite's life was changed forever, when as a guest of an aunt who lived in Paris, she was exposed to the artwork exhibited at the 1908 Salon d'Automne; paintings by Matisse,Vlaminck, Anne Estelle Rice, John Duncan Fergusson, to name just a few. She was enthralled with their use of color and minimalist form, a discipline which she continued to explore throughout her career. Marguerite not only expressed her talents through her embroideries and paintings but applied them to the decor of their living quarters as well as the clothing she designed for herself and her family, right down to the stockings that her daughter, Dahlov wore to grade school. No wonder it has been said that the Zorachs truly lived life as an art form.
Throughout their careers both Marguerite and William continued to adhere to their own artistic vision. They refused to allow the trends of the day influence their styles. They saw each and every work as a unique creation that would forever stand unmistakably as a "Zorach". Truly, theirs is both a love story as well as a success story.
Their works have been collected by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Delaware Art Museum, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Farnsworth Art Museum, Portland Museum of Art, The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, The Smithsonian, The Philips Collection, and educational institutions such as Colby College, The University of Vermont, Williams College, Bowdoin College, and the University of Virginia. For the complete listings, see either William or Marguerite's page under Permanent Collections.
In addition William has works associated with many public buildings, among them: Radio City Music Hall, New York City Municipal Court, the U.S. Post Office in Washington D.C. as well as Farleigh Dickinson University. He was honored by the Clinton White House as one of America’s great artists.
Want to know more?
See Jessica Nicoll's "To
Be Modern"
The
Origins of Marguerite and William Zorach's
Creative Partnership, 1911-1922 by Jessica
Nicoll : Former Curator, Portland Museum of Art; now Director of the Smith College Museum of Art
Zorach
Collection, LLC
If you have any questions regarding William and Marguerite Zorach;
have a piece of art that you need to discuss; or would
just plain like to reminisce, please contact one of the Zorach
Collection, LLC's Executive Committee - William
and Marguerite's grandchildren. We would be delighted to help
you!
Peter Zorach
Bob Ipcar
Tim Zorach
Zorach Exhibits
Recent exhibits of William & Marguerite Zorach's work
Zorach works for sale at the Gerald Peters Gallery
For a small overview see William & Marguerite Zorach's gallery |
Marguerite and William
