Hannah Holliday Stewart: I Wanted To See The Wind

Hannah Holliday Stewart I WANTED TO SEE THE WIND

HANNAH HOLLIDAY STEWART: I WANTED TO SEE THE WIND

HANNAH HOLLIDAY STEWART I WANTED TO SEE THE WIND

A MATTHEWS GALLERY PUBLICATION SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO © 2012, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FRONTISPIECE: Hannah Stewart in her studio, circa 1970s.

Contents 9

Hannah Holliday Stewart: I Wanted To See î Že Wind

By LAWRENCE MATTHEWS

13

Plates

155

Expanded information on the Plates

Hannah Holliday Stewart: I Wanted To See e Wind

By LAWRENCE MATTHEWS Space does not exist it is just a metaphor for the structure of our existences.

LOUISE BOURGEOIS

IMAGINE WALKING INTO an

artist's studio that had been kept private for twenty years and discovering artwork that hardly anyone knew still existed.

Hannah Holliday Stewart had her work exhibited in over 40 venues including e Smithsonian, Washington, DC; the San Francisco Museum of Art; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts and others.

Her work and her career were instrumental to the increased recognition of women sculptors in the United States. e International Sculpture magazine wrote :

turned her back on the art establishment and continued to work in isolation for the last twenty years of her life. After her death in 2010, sculptures, consisting of work that spanned her entire career, were discovered in her studio - from pieces that are only a few inches tall to one bronze that is over nine feet. is catalog is composed of these sculptures, and a few works on paper, which she presumably considered personally meaningful and important to her legacy.

(She) forged the way for serious women sculptors. Uniting Greek mythology and contemporary energy concepts ... (her) work fuses both primitive and futuristic sensibilities.

At a time when the art world marginalized women artists, she chose to create her own world from metal and stone and helped lead the way for a generation of women sculptors. ough she had achieved a high level of success and recognition, she eventually

FIGURE 1. Hannah Holliday Stewart in her studio, circa 1970s with her sculpture Adam’s Rib in background

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It is important to note that within the context of twenty-first century art, Ms. Stewart was one of a relatively small group of women who worked in the genre of abstract sculpture.

I wanted to SEE the wind, that magical force that could bend the huge oak tree in a summer storm, gently caress me on a hot summer day or sing to me as it played through a tree or around the house. is early interest in natural forces has sustained me throughout my life as a sculptor.

My goal is to render visible the hidden realities of pent-up contained energy. e direct fields of reference are Sacred Geometry, Astronomy, Myth & Physics ... Each Sculpture is an energy form, the movement arrested in space, a form sustaining an energy. My work is a response to these patterns and delineations and communicates with viewers through the universality of symbolism and form. (1)

FIGURE 2. Hannah Holliday Stewart in her studio, circa 1980s with her sculpture, Einstein’s Song

Her work is characterized by her attempt to convey her deeply personal metaphysical understanding of the universe. In an eloquent artist statement in which she concisely defines her work she wrote: When I was eight years old, I asked my mother what the wind really looked like. I remember spending hours ... days ... sitting with my hands open wide or running with my lightning-bug jar, hoping to catch the wind.

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Besides the influences she describes above, some of Ms. Stewart’s work displays sculptural forms related to the idea of the “sacred feminine”. In this she shared a common bond with female artists of her generation: Breaking from religious expressions in which the male principle acts as a form of oppressive domination, a number of women artists such as Ana Mendieta, Carolee Schneemann, Dona Henes, Donna Byars, Betye Saar, Mary Beth Edelson, Betsy Damon, ... and others turned for inspiration to goddess imagery and ancient female deities. In sculpture, painting, and ritual, they revived the image of woman as shaman, deity, powerful creator and generator of life.” (2)

Stewart’s artistic affirmation of the feminine spirit paralleled social changes which were creating new more powerful self images for women in conjunction with their ascendant collective power in society.

them. ese symbols are undoubtedly related to her personal metaphysics and are a silent language that only she understood.

NOTES

Her work then contains the elements that are found in serious artistic efforts - a personal vision of the world combined with a sense of the society and the unique period in which she lived.

Style and form:

1. Undated, typed statement found in Ms. Stewart’s personal files after her death.

2. Charlotte Streifer Rubinstein, “American Women Sculptors”, G.K. Hall & Co., Boston, page 453.

e predominance of her work, most of it in bronze, is hard-edged and geometrical.

In this aspect she differs from some of her female contemporaries who often worked with materials such as fabric, wood and mixed media and whose forms were more fluid and curvilinear.

Its clear from photographic evidence that early in her career some of her sculptures were of a monumental scale. Many of these pieces are now either installed in public spaces or situated in corporate environments. With the exception of one existing piece from her studio that stands 114 inches tall, most of her remaining work is rarely over 60 inches high and most pieces are 36 inches high or less.

One of the more idiosyncratic features of her work is the inclusion of symbols of unknown meaning inscribed on some of

FIGURE 3. Hannah Holliday Stewart in her studio, circa 1970s - 1980s working on Atropos Key with her sculpture, Lachesis to the right

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FIGURE 4: Hannah Stewart viewing Brad’s Icon with Adam’s Rib in the background, undated installation photograph

PLATES

1.

ATROPOS KEY Bronze 24.5 x 15 x 3 inches

2.

OCKUM’S RAZOR Bronze, dark patina 31 x 36 x 17 inches

3.

WU LI Bronze, gold patina 21.5 x 20 x 5.5 inches

4.

DANCE - THE EAGLES SLEEP Bronze 17.5 x 14.5 x 2.75 inches

5.

KOSMIC NOMAD Bronze, gold patina 16 x 6 x 4 inches

6.

GENIUS LOCI Bronze, gold patina 16 x 18 x 3 inches

7.

GENIUS LOCI Bronze, gold patina 16 x 15.5 x 2 inches

8.

GENIUS LOCI Bronze 9.25 x 8.25 x 1.25 inches

9.

MASTER KEY Bronze, gold patina 22 x 23.25 x 4.5 inches

10.

UNTITLED Bronze 30 x 6 x 6 inches

11.

BRAD’S ICON Bronze 15 x 7 x 6.5 inches

12.

BRAD’S ICON Bronze 15 x 7 x 6.5 inches

13.

PENROSE Bronze, black patina 32 x 43.5 x 6 inches

14.

LA GRIME Bronze, gold patina 24.5 x 12.5 x 3.75 inches

15.

KOSMIC NOMAD Bronze, gold patina 19.5 x 5.5 x 3.75 inches

16.

COSMOS Bronze 19 x 21 x 8 inches

17.

ADAM’S RIB Bronze 18 x 15 x 4 inches

18.

MARKER 22 Bronze 20 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches

19.

MARKER #13 Bronze, dark patina 19 x 3.5 x 4 inches

20.

MESSENGER Bronze, gold patina, on marble base 24 x 18 x 3.75 inches

21.

RUBICON Bronze, gold patina 28 x 14.5 x 4 inches

22.

CLOTHO Bronze, gold patina 26.5 x 10 x 6 inches

23.

WAR MONGER Bronze, green patina 16 x 8.25 x 2.25 inches

24.

THE AGNOSTIC Bronze, gold patina 28.25 x 12 x 2.5 inches

25.

PHOENIX Bronze, gold patina, on wood base 33.5 x 19 x 5.5 inches

26.

SURVIVOR Bronze, gold patina 22 x 13 x 6 inches

27.

UNTITLED Bronze, black patina 35 x 25 x 4 inches

28.

AQUARIAN AGE Bronze 15.75 x 15 x 5 inches

29.

ICARUS Bronze 16.5 x 17 x 9 inches

30.

LACHESIS Bronze 13 x 4.5 x 2 inches

31.

COSMIC ACOLYTE Bronze on wood base 10.5 x 6 x 2.5 inches

32.

TRIBUTE TO PUYE Bronze on marble base 9.5 x 13 x 3.5 inches

33.

THE SURVIVOR M Bronze, gold patina, on wood base 13 x 7 x 4 inches

34.

UNTITLED Bronze 10 x 8 x 5 inches

35.

UNTITLED Bronze 10 x 7 x 6 inches

36.

THE FIXER MASK SERIES Bronze 6.5 x 8 x 3 inches

37.

FALLEN ANGEL Bronze 11 x 10 x 4 inches

38.

UNTITLED (TORSO) Bronze on wood base 11.5 x 4 x 2 inches

39.

ENIGMA OF DUALITY Bronze with wood base 10.5 x 10 x 2.5 inches

40.

WINGED PHAROAH Bronze with wood base 9 x 8 x 5.5 inches

41.

DEEP SLEEP Bronze 9 x 9.5 x 3 inches

42.

UNTITLED Bronze 7 x 4.25 x 1.75 inches

43.

UNTITLED Bronze, dark patina 7.5 x 6 x 2 inches

44.

COSMIC DANCE Bronze 9.75 x 7 x 3.5 inches

45.

UNTITLED Bronze 4 x 6 x 1 inches

46.

MUSTARD SEED Bronze 4 x 2.75 x 2 inches

47.

MARSHAL CROSS Bronze 8 x 7.5 x .25 inches

48.

EASTERN ROSE GARDEN Bronze 8.25 x 7.75 x 1 inches

49.

UNTITLED Bronze 6.5 x 3.5 x 2.25 inches

50.

UNTITLED Bronze, silver patina 14.5 x 7 x 5 inches

51.

UNTITLED Bronze, dark and green patina 16 x 11 x 11 inches

52.

UNTITLED Bronze, dark and green patina on marble base 19 x 8 x 9 inches

53.

JUPITER CONNECTION Bronze 9 x 17.5 x 7 inches

54.

STARGATE Bronze 9 x 19 x 9 inches

55.

JUPITER CONNECTION Polished Aluminum 9 x 18 x 7.5 inches

56.

UNTITLED Wire 34 x 39 x 27 inches

57.

UNTITLED Carved, polished granite 13.25 x 10 x 1 inches

58.

UNTITLED Carved, polished granite 25 x 13 x 1 inches

59.

UNTITLED Carved, polished granite 22 x 18 x 1 inches

60.

STRANGER Bronze, black and gold patina 113 x 20 x 20 inches

61.

UNTITLED Bronze, gold patina 56.5 x 35.5 x 4 inches

62.

KHOPRI Bronze, gold patina 34 x 29 x 4 inches

63.

EINSTEIN’S SONG Bronze, gold patina 49.5 x 40.5 x 18 inches

64.

ORION DREAM Bronze, gold patina 54 x 33 x 4.5 inches

65.

POLESHIFT Bronze, black patina 25.5 x 35 x 5 inches

66.

ALPHA Bronze, black patina 34 x 34 x 5 inches

67.

GALAXY SERIES V Carved, polished granite mounted on granite base 29 x 20 x 4 inches

68.

GALAXY SERIES I Etching 33 x 23 inches (sheet) 23.5 x 14 inches (image)

69.

GALAXY SERIES II Etching 33 x 23 inches (sheet) 24 x 14 inches (image)

70.

GALAXY SERIES III Etching 33 x 23 inches (sheet) 24 x 14 inches (image)

FIGURE 5: Hannah Stewart, circa 1970s

Expanded Information on the Plates 1. ATROPOS KEY, n.d.

Bronze 24.5 x 15 x 3 inches Signature: “Atropos Key, Stewart” Notes: is is a maquette for a large sculpture that is installed in Hermann Park, Houston, Texas Inventory Number: HHS2 2. OCKUM’S RAZOR, n.d.

Bronze, dark patina 31 x 36 x 17 inches Inventory Number: HHS110 3. WU LI, 1981 Bronze, gold patina 21.5 x 20 x 5.5 inches Signature: “Wu Li, Stewart. 1981©” Inventory Number: HHS1 4. DANCE - THE EAGLES SLEEP, 1973 Bronze 17.5 x 14.5 x 2.75 inches Signature: “Dance - e Eagles Sleep, Stewart, 73” Notes: is is a maquette for a large completed sculpture, location unknown Inventory Number: HHS6 5. KOSMIC NOMAD, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 16 x 6 x 4 inches Inventory number: HHS3

6. GENIUS LOCI, circa 2004 Bronze, gold patina 16 x 18 x 3 inches Signature: “Stewart” Notes: Maquette for a sculpture designed to be nine feet tall Inventory number: HHS4 7. GENIUS LOCI, 2004 Bronze, gold patina 16 x 15.5 x 2 inches Signature: “Genius Loci, 2004, H Stewart” Notes: Base has circular symbol in center Inventory number: HHS5 8. GENIUS LOCI, n.d.

Bronze 9.25 x 8.25 x 1.25 inches Inventory number: HHS33 9. MASTER KEY, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 22 x 23.25 x 4.5 inches Signature: “Stewart, Master Key” Notes: Maquette for sculpture designed to be 19 feet tall Inventory number: HHS7 10. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze 30 x 6 x 6 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS8

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11. BRAD’S ICON, n.d.

Bronze 15 x 7 x 6.5 inches Signature: “Brad’s Icon, Stewart” Inventory number: HHS9 Notes: Maquette for a sculpture designed to be eight feet tall 12. BRAD’S ICON, n.d.

Bronze 15 x 7 x 6.5 inches Signature: “Brad’s Icon, H Stewart” Inventory number: HHS10 Notes: Maquette for a sculpture designed to be eight feet tall 13. PENROSE, n.d.

Bronze, black patina 32 x 43.5 x 6 inches Signature: “H Stewart” Inventory number: HHS111 14. LA GRIME, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 24.5 x 12.5 x 3.75 inches Signature: “Stewart, La Grime” Notes: Maquette for a sculpture designed to be 19 feet tall Inventory number: HHS11 15. KOSMIC NOMAD, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 19.5 x 5.5 x 3.75 inches Signature: “Kosmic Nomad, Stewart” Inventory number: HHS13

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16. COSMOS, n.d.

Bronze 19 x 21 x 8 inches Notes: Maquette for fountain intended to be 30 feet tall Inventory number: HHS14 17. ADAM’S RIB, n.d.

Bronze 18 x 15 x 4 inches Signature: “Adam’s Rib, Stewart” Notes: Maquette for a sculpture designed to be 11.5 feet tall Inventory number: HHS15 18. MARKER 22, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 20 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches Signature: “Marker 22, Stewart” Inventory number: HHS16 19. MARKER #13, n.d.

Bronze, dark patina 19 x 3.5 x 4 inches Signature: “ Marker #13, Stewart” Inventory number: HHS17 20. MESSENGER, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina, on marble base 24 x 18 x 3.75 inches Signature: ‘e Messenger, Stewart” Notes: Maquette for a sculpture intended to be 10 feet tall Inventory number: HHS18

21. RUBICON, 2008 Bronze, gold patina 28 x 14.5 x 4 inches Signature: “Rubicon, h. Stewart, 2008” Notes: Maquette for a sculpture designed to be 19.5 feet tall Inventory number: HHS19

26. SURVIVOR, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 22 x 13 x 6 inches Signature: “Survivor, Stewart” Notes: Maquette for sculpture intended to be 8 feet tall Inventory number: HHS26

22. CLOTHO, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 26.5 x 10 x 6 inches Edition: 2/2 Signature: “Clotho, 2/2, Stewart” Notes: Maquette for a sculpture intended to be 17 feet tall Inventory number: HHS20

27. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze, black patina 35 x 25 x 4 inches Inventory number: HHS106

23. WAR MONGER, n.d Bronze, green patina 16 x 8.25 x 2.25 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS23 24. THE AGNOSTIC, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 28.25 x 12 x 2.5 inches Signature: “e Agnostic, Stewart” Inventory number: HHS24 25. PHOENIX, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina, on wood base 33.5 x 19 x 5.5 inches Signature: “the Phoenix, H Stewart” Inventory number: HHS25

28. AQUARIAN AGE, n.d Bronze 15.75 x 15 x 5 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS28 29. ICARUS, n.d.

Bronze 16.5 x 17 x 9 inches Inventory number: HHS29 30. LACHESIS, n.d.

Bronze 13 x 4.5 x 2 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS30 31. COSMIC ACOLYTE, n.d.

Bronze on wood base 10.5 x 6 x 2.5 inches Inventory number: HHS32 32. TRIBUTE TO PUYE, n.d.

Bronze on marble base 9.5 x 13 x 3.5 inches Inventory number: HHS34

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33. THE SURVIVOR M., n.d.

Bronze, gold patina, on wood base 13 x 7 x 4 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS35

40. WINGED PHAROAH, n.d.

Bronze with wood base 9 x 8 x 5.5 inches Inventory number: HHS41

34. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze 10 x 8 x 5 inches Signature: “H Stewart” Inventory number: HHS36

41. DEEP SLEEP, n.d.

Bronze 9 x 9.5 x 3 inches Edition: 1/3 Signature: “Deep Sleep, 1/3, Stewart” Inventory number: HHS42

35. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze 10 x 7 x 6 inches Inventory number: HHS39

42. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze 7 x 4.25 x 1.75 inches Inventory number: HHS44

36. THE FIXER MASK SERIES, n.d.

Bronze 6.5 x 8 x 3 inches Signature: “e Fixer Mask Series, Stewart” Inventory number: HHS43

43. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze, dark patina 7.5 x 6 x 2 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS45

37. FALLEN ANGEL, n.d.

Bronze 11 x 10 x 4 inches Inventory number: HHS37

44. COSMIC DANCE, 1987 Bronze 9.75 x 7 x 3.5 inches Signature: “Cosmic Dance, H Stewart, 1987” Inventory number: HHS46

38. UNTITLED (TORSO), n.d.

Bronze on wood base 11.5 x 4 x 2 inches Inventory number: HHS38 39. ENIGMA OF DUALITY, n.d.

Bronze with wood base 10.5 x 10 x 2.5 inches Inventory number: HHS40

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45. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze 4 x 6 x 1 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS48

46. MUSTARD SEED, n.d.

Bronze 4 x 2.75 x 2 inches Edition: Open edition Signature: “Mustard Seed, Stewart” Notes: as pictured, there are four separate sculptures Inventory numbers: HHS49-52 47. MARSHAL CROSS, n.d.

Bronze 8 x 7.5 x .25 inches Inventory number: HHS53 48. EASTERN ROSE GARDEN, n.d.

Bronze 8.25 x 7.75 x 1 inches Inventory number: HHS54 49. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze 6.5 x 3.5 x 2.25 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS55 50. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze, silver patina 14.5 x 7 x 5 inches Inventory number: HHS56 51. UNTITLED, 1957 Bronze, dark and green patina 16 x 11 x 11 inches Signature: “H Stewart, 57” Inventory number: HHS58

52. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze, dark and green patina on marble base 19 x 8 x 9 inches Inventory number: HHS59 53. JUPITER CONNECTION, n.d.

Bronze 9 x 17.5 x 7 inches Inventory number: HHS61 54. STARGATE, n.d.

Bronze 9 x 19 x 9 inches Notes: Maquette for a sculpture intended to be 9 feet tall Inventory number: HHS62 55. JUPITER CONNECTION, n.d.

Polished Aluminum 9 x 18 x 7.5 inches Inventory number: HHS63 56. UNTITLED, n.d.

Wire 34 x 39 x 27 inches Inventory number: HHS71 57. UNTITLED, n.d.

Carved polished granite 13.25 x 10 x 1 inches Inventory number: HHS72 58. UNTITLED, n.d.

Carved, polished granite 25 x 13 x 1 inches Inventory number: HHS73

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59. UNTITLED, n.d.

Carved, polished granite 22 x 18 x 1 inches Signature: “Stewart” Inventory number: HHS74

65. POLESHIFT, n.d.

Bronze, black patina 25.5 x 35 x 5 inches Signature: “898, h. Stewart” Inventory number: HHS112

60. STRANGER, n.d.

Bronze, black and gold patina 113 x 20 x 20 inches Signature: “H. Stewart, AP” Inventory number: HHS104

66. ALPHA, 2009 Bronze, black patina 34 x 34 x 5 inches Signature: “H Stewart” Inventory number: HHS113

61. UNTITLED, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 56.5 x 35.5 x 4 inches Inventory number: HHS105

67. GALAXY SERIES V, n.d.

Carved, polished granite mounted on granite base 29 x 20 x 4 inches Inventory number: HHS114

62. KHOPRI, 2008 Bronze, gold patina 34 x 29 x 4 inches Edition: 1/5 Signature: “H. Stewart” Inventory number: HHS107 63. EINSTEIN’S SONG, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 49.5 x 40.5 x 18 inches Signature: “H. Stewart” Inventory number: HHS108 64. ORION DREAM, n.d.

Bronze, gold patina 54 x 33 x 4.5 inches Signature: “Stewart AP” Inventory number: HHS109

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68. GALAXY SERIES I, n.d.

Etching 33 x 23 inches (sheet) 23.5 x 14 inches (image) Edition: 22 Signature: “1/22” (lower left); “H Stewart” (lower right) Inventory number: HHS 128 Notes: there are numbers 8/22, 11/22, 12/22, 14/22 and 16/22 through 22/22 remaining in this edition

69. GALAXY SERIES II, n.d.

Etching 33 x 23 inches (sheet) 24 x 14 inches (image) Edition: 22 Signature: “16/22, Galaxy Series II” (lower left); “H Stewart” (lower right) Inventory number: HHS 129 Notes: there are numbers 8/22, 11/22, 12/22, 14/22 and 17/22 through 22/22 remaining in this edition 70. GALAXY SERIES III, n.d.

Etching 33 x 23 inches (sheet) 24 x 14 inches (image) Edition: 22 Signature: “7/22, Galaxy Series III” (lower left); “H Stewart” (lower right) Inventory number: HHS 130 Notes: there are numbers 8/22, 11/22, 12/22, 14/22 and 16/22 through 22/22 remaining in this edition

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