Louise Nevelson was an American artist born in Russia in 1899 who immigrated to the United States as a child. She later moved to New York City to study art and met other famous artists like Picasso and Rivera. At age 30, she began creating sculptural assemblages by nailing together scraps of wood and other materials she collected, which were considered junk, and painting them a single color. Her sculptures blended the junk materials together to form new shapes, with an emphasis on the shadows created.

1. Louise Nevelson
An American artist
1899 – 1988

2. Jeffrey Rodriguez
Born in Russia
Louise moved with her parents
to America when she was 4.
When she was a young woman
she married and moved to New
York City to study art.

3. Jeffrey Rodriguez
Louise met famous artists like
Pablo Picasso and Diego Rivera.

4. Jeffrey Rodriguez
At 30 she began making
sculptures called assemblages.
She used scraps of wood that
she nailed together and
painted.
She created large wooden
walls made of dozens of
smaller boxes filled with
hundreds of pieces of
carefully arranged JUNK!

5. Jeffrey Rodriguez
The things Louise used
were considered JUNK.
She collected sawed up bits of
furniture and wood from
destroyed houses.

6. Jeffrey Rodriguez
Self Portrait, 1964

7. Jeffrey Rodriguez
She painted her sculptures
with just one color.
Night Leaf, 1969
Her favorite colors to
use were black, white
or gold.

8. Jeffrey Rodriguez

9. Jeffrey Rodriguez
She wanted all of the junk to
blend together and create one
new shape.
The most important part
of her sculpture was its
shadows.

10. Jeffrey Rodriguez
Bride and Groom, 1962

11. Jeffrey Rodriguez
Dawn’s Wedding
Chapel, 1959

12. Jeffrey Rodriguez
Royal Tide, 1960

13. Jeffrey Rodriguez
Dawn’s Wedding Feast, 1959

14. Jeffrey Rodriguez
She also created public art
for outdoors.
Sky Landscape, 1988

15. Jeffrey Rodriguez