The Michener Art Museum in Doylestown has opened a new exhibition highlighting the influences that shaped the work of sculptor and woodworker Wharton Esherick.
“Daring Design: The Impact of Three Women on Wharton Esherick’s Craft” runs through Feb. 6. The exhibition explores the significant impact of three women – industrialist Helene Fischer, artist Hanna Weil, and photographer Marjorie Content – on Esherick’s career and development at a pivotal creative moment for the artist in the 1930s.
Fischer and Content supported Esherick financially through commissions of his work, and all three women provided artistic inspiration and propelled the artist to conceive new ideas that pushed the boundaries between fine art and functional design.
Featuring innovative furniture pieces designed by Esherick for Fischer, Weil and Content, as well as artwork created by Weil and Content, Daring Design investigates the visual and material dialogue between these artists and patrons.
“The support and collaboration from Fischer, Weil and Content allowed Wharton Esherick to produce some of his most innovative work during the Great Depression, when many artists struggled financially, and yet the impact these women had on his art and career is not widely recognized,” said Kate Quinn, executive director of Michener Art Museum, and a member of the board of director of the Wharton Esherick Museum in Chester County.
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