(Harpy with flower) by Norman LaLiberté

(Harpy with flower) by Norman LaLiberté

(Harpy with flower)

Norman LaLiberté

Title

(Harpy with flower)

 
Artist
Year
c. 1960  
Technique
ink drawing 
Image Size
15 9/16 x 12 1/4" image size 
Signature
pencil, lower right 
Edition Size
 
Annotations
 
Reference
 
Paper
toothy cream wove 
State
 
Publisher
 
Inventory ID
22411 
Price
SOLD
Description

Multi disciplinary artist Norman Laliberte often visited themes surrounding birds and humans, and in this case has merged the two with an abstracted figure of a harpy, a mythological creature with a human head and a bird’s body whose role as wind spirits was representative of destruction. Though they often carry a negative connotation, in Laliberte’s piece he has placed a flower in the harpy’s hair and hand, transforming her into a symbol of kindness and generosity.

Inspired by ancient Roman traditions, myths, and art, Laliberte often approached his works with the aim of providing beauty and celebration, uninterested in the darker themes of war or the human condition as many of his post-war peers often explored. The lines of this untitled ink drawing are playful without fuss, the style exemplary of the mid 20th century art world’s fascination with abstraction.

American/Canadian printmaker, painter, sculptor, author, and educator Norman Laliberte was born in Worcester, Massachussets, in 1925, to French Canadian parents. He was raised in Montreal, Canada, where he attended l'Ecole du Musee des beaux-arts. After graduation in 1948 he returned to the U.S. to continue his studies at the Institute of Design (BS, 1951) and the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago (MS in art education, 1956). Additional courses took place at Worcester Museum and the Cranbrook Academy in Michigan, to which he was granted a painting scholarship. He then began an extensive exhibiting career in conjunction with his work as a teacher.

He began teaching in 1959, first at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri from 1959 to 1960. This was followed by positions at St. Mary's College at Notre Dame Univerity, Indiana (1960 - '65); Rhode Island School of Design (1965 - '66); Newton College, Massachusetts (1967); and RISD once again from 1976 - 1977. Additionally, he was a guest lecturer and workshop leader at a variety of schools in both the U.S. and Canada. He received an honorary doctorate from both Notre Dame and McGill University. During his time as a teacher he continued to show in group and solo exhibitions; his first solo show took place at the Waddington Galleries in Montreal in 1965.

A major feature of Laliberte's early output was banners executed in fabric, inspired by a trip he took to the Italian city of Siena during their summer festivals. This would prove to be a key turn in his career, as he was commissioned to work a consultant at the 1964 New York World's Fair, creating a structure made of 88 banners to represent stained glass walls for the Vatican Pavilion; this job earned him international recognition as both an artist and a designer. His most recent commission was eighteen large panels for the International Terminal at the Logan Airport in Boston.

Norman LaLiberté died at his home in Nahant, Massachusetts on September 10, 2021.