Gilbert Franklin Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1919 - d. 2004

GILBERT FRANKLIN was a sculptor of great importance. His worked is abstract, figurative, and a combination of both -- ranging in size from 6 inches to 8 feet tall, and including such varied subjects as bikers, dancers, odalisques, couples and Greek Gods. A recently-discovered collection of special & important small bronze studies made in the early 1960s for his important sculpture commission called "Orpheus Ascending" are featured at the Gallery.

"Touring Gilbert Franklin's studio of finished pieces and wax forms in progress," Lynn Stanley wrote, "A restrained elegance and simplicity of line were evident everywhere. The features of each face were nondescript, the forms stylized; one had the sense of the archetypal body moving in time, not confined to the specifics of identity."

In a group of recent bronzes described by Andree van der Wende in the Cape Cod Times as "tender and elegantly refined," Franklin explored the complementary and dramatic integration of energy and rhythm with a series of dancers, the figures still and in motion at the same time. The artist catches that dramatic moment ­ the pause, and the movement, the swirl and whirl of the costume. The artist's improvisational process, like that of a jazz musician, creates an intricate harmony. Other works include divas ­ great stage personae ­ in performance. The figures undulate like a wave on the sea.