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The Wolfsonian - Florida International University Objects from the Wolfsonian (A division of Florida International University)

We are honored to include on our website the following three objects from The Wolfsonian - Florida International University (www.Wolfsonian.org). The Wolfsonian is a museum and research center located in the historic Art Deco District of Miami Beach. It promotes the examination of modern material culture to enhance the understanding and appreciation of objects as agents and reflections of social, political, and technological change. The organization focuses on its extraordinary collection of North American and European decorative, propaganda, and fine arts of the 1885 -1945 period, donated to Florida International University in 1997 by Mitchell Wolfsonian, Jr. Through exhibitions, publications, and academic and public programs, The Wolfsonian serves local, national, and international audiences.

Pair of Doors, “Allegories of Art & Industry”

Oscar B. Bach. New York, New York (unsigned). Designed 1925. Steel, silver
electroplated copper, cast iron, paint. Left Panel: Height: 80 1/4”; Width
29 1/4”; Depth 4 1/4”. Right Panel: Height 80 1/4”; Width 35 1/4”; Depth 4”.

Each door comprises a rectangular frame enclosing an open work design of
stylized scrollwork surrounding six small and one large roundel. The
roundels depict various figures in profile all engaged in their respective
arts and/or crafts. Below each figural panel is a square panel containing a
large sunburst with a central motif of a fist holding a mallet. It appears
that the frames have been modified slightly to fit a larger door opening.

Entitled “Allegories of Art & Industry,” the Wolfsonian doors are a
variation of a 1925 design executed by Bach in steel, bronze and silver for
the Toledo Museum of Art. The doors in the Wolfsonian collection may have
been made at the same time as the Toledo doors. However, they differ in
size, materials, placement of allegorical figures, choice of lever handles
(as opposed to round knobs), the removal of upper horizontal sunburst panels
as well as the removal of side bosses connecting frames to panels. New
information reveals that the doors in the Wolfsonian collection were sold
directly by Oscar Bach’s widow, Pauline Bach, in the early 1960s to Graham
Brown, owner of Florentine Craftsmen. Mr. Brown in turn sold them to
clients George E. and Annette Cross Murphy, making modifications to the
frame to fit the Murphy’s Manhattan apartment.

Provenance:
Pauline Bach, New York, NY
The Florentine Craftsmen, New York, NY
George E. & Annette Cross Murphy, New York, NY
Christies Auction House, New York, NY

Exhibited: The Wolfsonian, The Arts of Reform and Persuasion, catalogue
#171. 11/11/95-5/12/96

References:
Matlack Price, Design and Craftsmanship in Metals, The Creative Art of Oscar
B Bach, c. 1938, p. 6. *Important note: Price is referring to the 1925
Toledo Museum doors in his description on page 6, but has mistakenly used a
photograph of the doors now owned by the Wolfsonian.

Wendy Kaplan, editor, Designing Modernity, The Arts of Reform and
Persuasion, 1885-1945, (Selections from the Wolfsonian), Thames and Hudson,
1995. catalogue #171, p. 336.

Humidor, "Zodiac"

Oscar B. Bach (inscribed Oscar B. Bach). New York, New York, 1925-1930. 
Brass plated copper alloy; ivory and cedar. Height overall: 4 5/8"; Width:
10 7/8"; Depth 5 3/4".

The humidor consists of a rectangular box with champhered corners and a
hinged cover. The cover opens to reveal an interior with removable cedar
lining. All sides of the humidor are decorated with raised panels each
depicting one of the twelve symbols of the zodiac within an applied outer
frame. The cover bears four raised panels similarly articulated, each
symbolizing one of the four elements (earth, air, fire and water). A square
reserve in the center of the cover contains a stepped square-based handle
which terminates in an applied ivory finial. The base is surrounded by
beaded molding and rests on four bun feet.

A photograph of the Wolfsonian humidor can be found on page 16 of Matlack
Price’s 1938 book Design and Craftsmanship in Metals: The Creative Art of
Oscar B Bach (c. 1938) and described as A humidor with repousse appliqués
and inlays symbolic of the twelve signs of the zodiac, and figural work
representing the three elements. One in a number of zodiac inspired objects
created by Bach, a related example, though less Art Deco in design, is
pictured on page 31 of Price’s book and described as A utility box in the
heraldic manner with twelve signs of the zodiac.