Crafts and Collectibles: February 2012

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Pink Saturday-Feb 25, 2012 ~Brastoff

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~go here to see other "Pink Saturday" posts~ 

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A few years back I 'discovered'

and  bought some collector pieces of the talented artist/designer, Sascha Brastoff!

(1918~1993) 

This is an ashtray, in shades of pink and gray. This is the most recent one I've bought ( of several)

 and fits well for my "Pink Saturday" addition.

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This is about the artist:

Sascha Brastoff - a mid-century modern DaVinci

by Steve Conti

  Back in the 1950s, bigger was always better. Cars became longer, fins  higher and hair more bouffant. This was the perfect climate for a larger  than life artist, ceramist, dancer, designer, sculptor and talk of the  town: Sascha Brastoff. Screen legend and noted art aficionado Edward G.  Robinson proclaimed, "Sascha is a modern day Cellini; a contemporary  DaVinci." Sascha Brastoff had "arrived" in Hollywood... 

Actually, Sascha arrived in Cleveland, Ohio (in 1918) as Samuel  Brostofsky. An early aptitude for art lead him to The Clay Club in New  York City's Greenwich Village. With fellow alumni Louise Nevelson and  Isamu Noguchi, he concentrated on his primary love for highly  imaginative and detailed sculpting. Mass production of ashtrays and  decorative household items were farthest in his mind. I feel some of the  finest work he ever created was during these early years (1938 to  1945.) When not at school, Sascha made a living designing window  displays for the famed Macy's Department Store in Herald Square. In  1940, his first (and only) one man show (at the Clay Club's Sculpture  Gallery), showcased 37 original hand sculpted terra cotta "Whimsies." A  huge success, as all of these sold to prestigious New York collectors.  Today, only three have known to survive (Sascha's family retained  "Europa and the Bull"; Brastoff biographer Steve Conti has "Mermaid" and  "Tumblers.")