Artist
  • Ernst Neizvestny Bio Image
  • Ernst Neizvestny

    Russian Federation

    Art Brokerage: Park West Artist: Ernst Neizvestny Russian-American Artist: b. 1925-2016. Neizvestny was born 9 April 1925 in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). In 1942, at the age of 17, he joined the Red Army as a volunteer. At the close of World War II, he was heavily wounded and sustained a clinical death. Although he was awarded the Order of the Red Star "posthumously" and his mother received an official notification that her son had died, Neizvestny managed to survive. In 1947, Neizvestny was enrolled at the Art Academy of Latvia in Riga. He continued his education at the Surikov Moscow Art Institute and the Philosophy Department of the Moscow State University. His sculptures, often based on the forms of the human body, are noted for their expressionism and powerful plasticity. Although his preferred material is bronze, his larger, monumental installations are often executed in concrete. Most of his works are arranged in extensive cycles, the best known of which is The Tree of Life, a theme he has developed since 1956. Although Nikita Khrushchev famously derided Neizvestny's works as "degenerate" art at the Moscow Manege exhibition of 1962 ("Why do you disfigure the faces of Soviet people?"), the sculptor was later approached by Khruschev's family to design a tomb for the former Soviet leader at the Novodevichy Cemetery. Other well-known works he created during the Soviet period include Prometheus in Artek (1966) and in the late 1950s he designed the world's largest sculpture, a lotus blossom at the Aswan Dam, in Egypt. Much of his art from the Soviet era was destroyed before he was force exiled to America. Neizvestny's talent for large monumental sculptures was again recognized when in the late 1980s six Taiwan cities commissioned the New Statue of Liberty to be built in Kaohsiung harbor. Like the original in New York, it was planned to be 152 feet tall. Several models were built. At least one about five feet tall, and approximately 13 smaller bronzes, each slightly over 18 inches, sold to clients of Magna Gallery in San Francisco. Although the authorized maximum number of signed and numbered castings was 200, far fewer were actually cast and sold, in part because the monument was never built in Taiwan. The reasons are largely political, and are described in Albert Leong's bio of Neizvestny, referred to below. During the 1980s, Neizvestny was a visiting lecturer at the University of Oregon and at UC Berkeley. He also worked with Magna Gallery in San Francisco, and had a number of shows which were well-attended in the mid to late 1980s. This gallery also asked him to create his suite of five original graphics, "Man through the Wall," to mark the end of Communism at the end of the 1980s. Magna Gallery closed at the end of 1992. During this time Neizvestny worked diligently to get his dream "Tree of Life" monumental sculpture funded and built. Several small versions or spinoffs based on the theme were built, but the enormous monumental version that Neizvestny dreamed to build, inside which people could walk, has not been built although it has been fully conceptualized, planned out and detailed by the artist as a labor of love. In 1996, Neizvestny completed his Mask of Sorrow, a 15-meter tall monument to the victims of Soviet purges, situated in Magadan. The same year, he was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation. He lived in New York City and worked at Columbia University, Neizvestny but frequently visited Moscow and celebrated his 80th birthday there. A museum dedicated to his sculptures was established in Uttersberg, Sweden. Some of his crucifixion statues were acquired by John Paul II for the Vatican Museums. In 2004 Neizvestny became an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts. A biography of Neizvestny was written by University of Oregon professor Albert Leong in 2002 entitled: "Centaur:The Life and Art of Ernst Neizvestny." Another book written about Mr. Neizvestny is "Endurance, and the Role of the Artist," by British art critic John Berger. Listings wanted.

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Twelve Tribes of Israel 1978 - Huge Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Twelve Tribes of Israel 1978 - Huge

Limited Edition Print: Serigraph, Hand Signed, From the Edition of 300

Size: 36x22 in  | 91x56 cm
Huge 1978 Framed Limited Edition Serigraph - Inquire - A Steal - 4 Watchers $2,200
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Mask in Hand PP 1985 - Huge Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Mask in Hand PP 1985 - Huge

Limited Edition Print: Lithograph, Hand Signed, From the PP Edition

Size: 40x30 in  | 102x76 cm
Huge Mint Printers Proof Lithograph - A Steal $1,600
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Triple Self Portrait PP - Huge Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Triple Self Portrait PP - Huge

Limited Edition Print: Lithograph, Hand Signed, From the PP Edition

Size: 30x40 in  | 76x102 cm
🔥Huge Printers Proof Lithograph $1,995
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Man Through the Wall: Suite of 5 Lithographs - PP Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Man Through the Wall: Suite of 5 Lithographs - PP

Limited Edition Print: Embossed Lithographs , Hand Signed, From the PP Edition

Size: 22x30 in  | 56x76 cm
🔥Embossed Lithograph - Printers Proof Suite of 5 - A Steal!
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Female Seduction 2 1976 22x30 Original Painting - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Female Seduction 2 1976 22x30

Original Painting: Acrylic on Arches Paper, Hand Signed

Size: 29x20 in  | 72x51 cm
🔥Framed 1976 Acrylic - A Steal - Inquire
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Profile of a Man Drawing 1968 26x21 Works on Paper (not prints) - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Profile of a Man Drawing 1968 26x21

Works on Paper (not prints): India Ink on Paper, Hand Signed

Size: 12x17 in  | 30x43 cm
Framed Drawing $3,700
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Through the Wall 1990 - Suite of 5 Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Through the Wall 1990 - Suite of 5

Limited Edition Print: Lithograph, Hand Signed, From the Edition of 185

Size: 22x30 in  | 56x76 cm
🔥Complete Framed Suite of 5 - Inquire
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Untitled Drawing 6x4 Drawing - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Untitled Drawing 6x4

Drawing: Drawing on Paper, Hand Signed

Size: 6x4 in  | 15x10 cm
Hand Signed Drawing $3,775
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Holocaust (The Rat) 1985 24x18 Original Painting - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Holocaust (The Rat) 1985 24x18

Original Painting: Acrylic on Canvas , Hand Signed

Size: 24x18 in  | 61x46 cm
1985 Framed Acrylic on Canvas - Inquire
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Triple Self Portrait 1991 Stalin  Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Triple Self Portrait 1991 Stalin

Limited Edition Print: Lithograph, Hand Signed, From the edition of 99

Size: 30x40 in  | 76x102 cm
Framed Lithograph $1,800
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Together the Tribes of Israel AP  Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Together the Tribes of Israel AP

Limited Edition Print: Serigraph, Hand Signed, AP

Size: 34x22 in  | 86x56 cm
Large Framed Artist Proof Serigraph $3,200
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Half Robot Bronze Sculpture 1988 15 in Sculpture - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Half Robot Bronze Sculpture 1988 15 in

Sculpture: Bronze, Hand Signed, From the edition of 9

Size: 12x15x12 in  | 30x38x30 cm
Limited Edition Bronze Sculpture
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Through the Wall Suite of 5 1990 Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Through the Wall Suite of 5 1990

Limited Edition Print: Lithographs, Hand Signed, From the edition of 185

Size: 22x32 in  | 56x81 cm
Suite of 5 Lithographs - Inquire
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Heart of Christ 1995 Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Heart of Christ 1995

Limited Edition Print: Lithograph, Hand Signed, From the edition of 99

Size: 30x24 in  | 76x61 cm
Limited Edition Lithograph $2,400
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Triple Self Portrait 1990 Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Triple Self Portrait 1990

Limited Edition Print: Lithograph on Paper, Hand Signed, From the edition of 500

Size: 30x40 in  | 76x102 cm
Hand Signed Limited Edition Lithograph $2,995
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Centaur in Sterling Silver (The Silver Centaur) 1991 7 in Sculpture - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Centaur in Sterling Silver (The Silver Centaur) 1991 7 in

Sculpture: Rare Sterling Silver only a few were done, Hand Signed, From the edition of 99

Size: 7x4x2 in  | 18x10x5 cm
🔥Sterling Silver Sculpture - 5 Watchers $6,500
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Female Seduction 1 1976 30x22 Original Painting - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Female Seduction 1 1976 30x22

Original Painting: Acrylic on Arches Paper, Hand Signed

Size: 29x20 in  | 72x51 cm
Framed Acrylic on Canvas $4,500
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Triple Self Portrait 1991 Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Triple Self Portrait 1991

Limited Edition Print: Lithograph, Hand Signed, From the edition of 99

Size: 30x40 in  | 76x102 cm
Framed Lithograph $2,300
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Strange Births Drawing 1967 24x30 Drawing - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Strange Births Drawing 1967 24x30

Drawing: Pen on Paper, Hand Signed

Size: 18x24 in  | 46x61 cm
Framed Ink on Paper $6,900
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Man Through the Wall, Suite of 5 1990  Limited Edition Print - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Man Through the Wall, Suite of 5 1990

Limited Edition Print: Hand Embossed Lithographs, Hand Signed

Size: 22x30 in  | 56x76 cm
Portfolio set of 5 Lithographs
$$$$$
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Nail in Neck 1986 Drawing - Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny

Nail in Neck 1986

Drawing: Pencil on Paper, Hand Signed

Size: 6x5 in  | 15x13 cm
Framed Signed Original Pencil Drawing
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