Home | Experience the Arts | Public Art Directory | Birth of the Muses (Pegasus)

Public Art

Birth of the Muses (Pegasus)

By Jacques Lipchitz
Category: Sculpture

About

Birth of the Muses was originally designed to be placed on the brick chimney over the fireplace in a house owned by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller in New York. Lipchitz decided to develop the piece from his Pegasus designs and call it Birth of the Muses in Honor of the Rockefellers’ interest in the arts. In 1950 he completed the work as a bronze relief standing five feet high. It was installed as planned and later was acquired by Lincoln Center. While the sculpture that rests in the Missouri Botanical Gardens is not identical to the piece he made for the Rockefellers, they are very similar and share the same title.

Dimensions: 60.5″ x 89″
Year Completed: 1994
Material: Bronze
Owner: Missouri Botanical Garden


About the artist:

Jacques Lipchitz

1891-1973

Chaim Jacob Lipchitz, 1891-1973, was born in Lithuania and came to age in Paris during the early 20th century, where he was active in the avant-garde community of Picasso, Modigliani, Soutine and Gris. He fled to the United States in 1941 ahead of the Nazi invasion. Lipchitz is considered one of the great modern sculptors of the 20th century.