Nancy Proskauer Dryfoos (March 25, 1918 – October 13, 1991;
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Nancy Edith Proskauer) was an American sculptor. She was known for her works in stone and terra cotta.
Life and career
Nancy Proskauer Dryfoos was born as Nancy Edith Proskauer, on March 25, 1918, in
New Rochelle
New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...
, New York.
The family was Jewish, her mother was
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
Edith Harris Proskauer, and her father was
investor
An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future Return on capital, return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of pr ...
Richman Proskauer. In 1938, she married with Donald Dryfoos, a
rare book
Rare may refer to:
* Rare, a particular temperature of meat
* Something infrequent or scarce, see Scarcity
:* Rare species
A rare species is a group of organisms that are very uncommon, scarce, or infrequently encountered. This designation may ...
collector. They never had any children, and remained married until her death.
Dryfoos attended Drew Seminary;
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...
(B.A. 1936), with
Kurt Roesch; the Columbia University's School of Architecture (now
) with
Oronzio Maldarelli; and at the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school in the American Fine Arts Society in Manhattan, New York City. The Arts Students League is known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists.
Although artists may study f ...
.
She also worked under
Jose de Creeft.
Dryfoos showed her work at annual exhibitions between 1948 until 1972, with the Allied Artists of America, the
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...
, the
Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts (now Everson Museum of Art), the
National Academy of Design
The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
, and others.
In the 1950s she chaired the Tercentenary Fine Arts Committee, to mark the anniversary of the American Jewish
tercentenary
An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded.
Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...
.
She won many awards including the Edel Award for Fine Arts, the "Constance K. Livingston Award" from the American Society of Contemporary Artists; the "Gold Medal of Honor" from the Allied Artists of America, and the Naomi Lehman Memorial Award.
Death and legacy
She died of a heart attack on October 13, 1991, in New York City.
She had also struggled with
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
at the end of life.
Her artwork is in collections at
Boca Raton Museum of Art
Founded by artists, the Boca Raton Museum of Art was established in 1950 as the Art Guild of Boca Raton. The organization has grown to encompass an Art School, Guild, Store, and Museum with permanent collections of contemporary art, photography, ...
in Florida,
Brandeis University
Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
,
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
,
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, and
Kean University
Kean University () is a public university in Union Township, Union County, New Jersey, Union, Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth, and Hillside, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education and is a state-designated rese ...
in New Jersey.
References
External links
Nancy Dryfoos papers, 1955-1976 from Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dryfoos, Nancy Proskauer
1918 births
1991 deaths
20th-century American sculptors
20th-century American women artists
American women sculptors
Artists from New York City
Artists from New Rochelle, New York
Art Students League of New York alumni
Columbia University alumni
Jewish American artists
Sarah Lawrence College alumni