Monumental Art Moderne Bronze Pelican Sculpture, USA, Circa 1940s

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Monumental Art Moderne Bronze Pelican Sculpture, Streamline Moderne Style, Circa 1930s/1940s
Possibly inscribed/signed 'JHI'

Monumental Art Moderne Bronze Pelican Sculpture … Read more Monumental Art Moderne Bronze Pelican Sculpture, Streamline Moderne Style, Circa 1930s/1940s
Possibly inscribed/signed 'JHI'

Monumental Art Moderne Bronze Pelican Sculpture executed in a rich brown patina, masterfully capturing the iconic coastal bird through bold, simplified forms characteristic of the Streamline Moderne aesthetic. Reduced to its essential sculptural volumes, the pelican's elongated bill, gracefully arched neck, rounded body, and broad webbed feet create a composition of remarkable balance and quiet monumentality. Rather than emphasizing naturalistic feather detail, the sculptor distilled the subject into flowing, uninterrupted contours that celebrate mass, proportion, and silhouette.

Cast in bronze using the traditional lost-wax process and hand finished with a warm chocolate-brown patina that evokes the appearance of carved hardwood, the sculpture demonstrates exceptional craftsmanship. The subtly textured facial markings and restrained modeling contrast beautifully with the smooth, polished expanses of the body, allowing light to animate the sculpture's elegant curves. At nearly thirty inches in width and weighing approximately fifty-five pounds, it possesses an architectural presence equally suited to an interior, conservatory, or garden setting.

The bronze embodies the sculptural ideals of American Art Moderne, balancing naturalistic observation with bold simplification. Rather than reducing the pelican to abstraction, the sculptor preserves its distinctive anatomy while emphasizing broad, swelling volumes and graceful contours. The work shares aesthetic affinities with the monumental modeling of Gaston Lachaise, the refined Art Deco bronzes of Boris Lovet-Lorski, and the rhythmic simplification of Elie Nadelman. Although no attribution to these sculptors is suggested, the bronze reflects the same modernist interest in expressing form through mass, proportion, and sculptural economy. Its architectural scale and commanding presence also place it comfortably within the tradition of American WPA-era and Streamline Moderne public sculpture of the 1930s and 1940s.

Dimensions: 27 inches high × 29 inches wide × 10 inches deep. Footprint measures 11 inches wide × 4.5 inches deep. Weight approximately 55 pounds.

Condition: Presents beautifully with a warm, well-developed brown patina and expected light surface wear consistent with age and use. An indistinct scratched monogram or inventory inscription appears on one side but remains unreadable and is not offered as a confirmed artist's signature. See less