Roy Gussow
Encyclopedia
Roy Gussow was an American
abstract
sculptor known for his public pieces often crafted from polished stainless steel
. Examples of his work can be founded outside the National Museum of American History
in Washington D.C., City Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
, the New York City Family Court building in Manhattan
, and the Tulsa Convention Center
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
.
, but switched majors and earned a bachelor's degree
in landscape architecture
in 1938.
during World War II
. Gussow met painter George Kachergis while serving in France
. Kachergis encouraged Gussow to enter the fields of art and design. He enrolled at the IIT Institute of Design
in Chicago
following the end of World War II and studied under cubist sculptor Alexander Archipenko
. Archipenko took Gussow to Woodstock, New York
, in 1946, where he attended summer school. He met his future wife, Mary Maynard, while in Woodstock.
Gussow taught sculpture and art at Bradley University
in Illinois
, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
and the North Carolina State University
School of Design, now known as the College of Design, in Raleigh, North Carolina
. He returned back to New York City, settling in Manhattan
in 1962. In 1964, Gussow moved to Long Island City, becoming one of the first artists to take up residence in what was then an industrial section of the Queens
neighborhood. Gussow created both his home and sculpture studio inside a former silver plating factory. He resided and worked in Long Island City for the rest of his life.
, designed by José de Rivera
, which was dedicated outside the Smithsonian's Museum of History and Technology, now called the National Museum of American History
, in 1967. The piece is one of the first abstract sculptures to be placed at a major public building in Washington D.C. The sculpture consists of a 16-foot long curved stainless steel ribbon placed atop a granite
column. The piece, which stands 24 feet tall, is located at the entrance to the museum facing the National Mall
.
In 1974, Gussow's "Three Forms 7-31-75" was dedicated outside of the New York City Family Court building at Lafayette
and Leonard Streets
in the Civic Center
section of Lower Manhattan
. The eight-feet tall sculpture, which has a mirror
stainless steel finish like many of Russow's public works, stands on a two foot base constructed of granite
. The sculpture was removed in 2010 for restoration.
Gussow also created "Crystal," which was placed outside of city hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
, in 1983. Gussow designed "Crystal" as six "wedge-shaped facet
s" which reflect clouds as they float over the city of Harrisburg. This particular sculpture stands at seventeen feet tall.
Some examples of Gussow's other public sculptures can be found at North Carolina State University
, outside the Xerox building in Rochester, New York
, and the Civic Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma
. His smaller works are housed at prominent museums, including the Brooklyn Museum
, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art
(MoMa) and the Guggenheim Museum
.
Roy Gussow died of a heart attack in Queens, New York, on February 11, 2011, at the age of 92. His wife, Mary, died in 2004. He was survived by three daughters - Jill, Mimi and Olga - two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His daughter, Jill Gussow, is also an artist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
sculptor known for his public pieces often crafted from polished stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
. Examples of his work can be founded outside the National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
in Washington D.C., City Hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, the New York City Family Court building in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and the Tulsa Convention Center
Tulsa Convention Center
The Maxwell Convention Center or Tulsa Convention Center is a 7,111-seat multi-purpose arena in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The civic arena was constructed in 1964 and named for Tulsa Mayor James L. Maxwell who was the driving force behind the planning and start of the venue...
in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
.
Early life
Gussow was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 12, 1918, to Abraham and Mildred Gussow. He was one of three siblings. Gussow was Jewish. He enrolled at Farmingdale State College originally intending to pursue a career as a farmerFarmer
A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, who raises living organisms for food or raw materials, generally including livestock husbandry and growing crops, such as produce and grain...
, but switched majors and earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in landscape architecture
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
in 1938.
Sculptor
He joined the United States ArmyUnited States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Gussow met painter George Kachergis while serving in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Kachergis encouraged Gussow to enter the fields of art and design. He enrolled at the IIT Institute of Design
IIT Institute of Design
Institute of Design at Illinois Institute of Technology , originally founded as the New Bauhaus, is a graduate school teaching systemic, human-centered design.- History :...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
following the end of World War II and studied under cubist sculptor Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Archipenko
Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko was a Ukrainian avant-garde artist, sculptor, and graphic artist.-Biography:...
. Archipenko took Gussow to Woodstock, New York
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
, in 1946, where he attended summer school. He met his future wife, Mary Maynard, while in Woodstock.
Gussow taught sculpture and art at Bradley University
Bradley University
Bradley University, founded in 1897, is a private, co-educational university located in Peoria, Illinois. It is a small institution with an enrollment of approximately 6,100 undergraduate and postgraduate students and a full-time faculty of approximately 350....
in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center
The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center is an arts center located just north of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. Located on the same city block are the American Numismatic Association and part of the campus of Colorado College....
and the North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
School of Design, now known as the College of Design, in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
. He returned back to New York City, settling in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1962. In 1964, Gussow moved to Long Island City, becoming one of the first artists to take up residence in what was then an industrial section of the Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
neighborhood. Gussow created both his home and sculpture studio inside a former silver plating factory. He resided and worked in Long Island City for the rest of his life.
Works
Gussow created an abstract sculptureSculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, designed by José de Rivera
Jose de Rivera
Jose de Rivera was an American abstract sculptor.-Life:He grew up in New Orleans. He dropped out of high school, but finished at a boarding school. He worked on the plantation, fixing farm machinery.In 1924, he moved to Chicago.He studied drawing with muralist John W. Norton...
, which was dedicated outside the Smithsonian's Museum of History and Technology, now called the National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
, in 1967. The piece is one of the first abstract sculptures to be placed at a major public building in Washington D.C. The sculpture consists of a 16-foot long curved stainless steel ribbon placed atop a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
column. The piece, which stands 24 feet tall, is located at the entrance to the museum facing the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
.
In 1974, Gussow's "Three Forms 7-31-75" was dedicated outside of the New York City Family Court building at Lafayette
Lafayette Street (Manhattan)
Lafayette Street is a major north-south street in New York City's Lower Manhattan, which runs roughly parallel to Broadway to the west. Originally, the part of the street below Houston Street was called Elm Place....
and Leonard Streets
Leonard Street (Manhattan)
Leonard Street is a street in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan.-Notable buildings:* 66 Leonard Street* 85 Leonard Street...
in the Civic Center
Civic Center, Manhattan
Civic Center is a neighborhood in downtown Manhattan covering the area around New York City Hall. It is bounded on the west by Broadway, on the north by Chinatown, on the east by the East River and the Brooklyn Bridge, and on the south by the Financial District.As in other civic centers, it is the...
section of Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
. The eight-feet tall sculpture, which has a mirror
Mirror
A mirror is an object that reflects light or sound in a way that preserves much of its original quality prior to its contact with the mirror. Some mirrors also filter out some wavelengths, while preserving other wavelengths in the reflection...
stainless steel finish like many of Russow's public works, stands on a two foot base constructed of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
. The sculpture was removed in 2010 for restoration.
Gussow also created "Crystal," which was placed outside of city hall in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, in 1983. Gussow designed "Crystal" as six "wedge-shaped facet
Facet
Facets are flat faces on geometric shapes. The organization of naturally occurring facets was key to early developments in crystallography, since they reflect the underlying symmetry of the crystal structure...
s" which reflect clouds as they float over the city of Harrisburg. This particular sculpture stands at seventeen feet tall.
Some examples of Gussow's other public sculptures can be found at North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
, outside the Xerox building in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, and the Civic Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. His smaller works are housed at prominent museums, including the Brooklyn Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
(MoMa) and the Guggenheim Museum
Guggenheim Museum
Guggenheim Museum may refer to:* The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, United States* The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy* The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain* The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum in Las Vegas, United States...
.
Roy Gussow died of a heart attack in Queens, New York, on February 11, 2011, at the age of 92. His wife, Mary, died in 2004. He was survived by three daughters - Jill, Mimi and Olga - two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His daughter, Jill Gussow, is also an artist.