Dora Gordine
Encyclopedia
Dora Gordine, FRBS aka La Gordine, was a British sculptress.
Gordin and Esther (née Schepschelevitch) in Liepāja
, Latvia, at a time when it was still part of the Russian Empire. Two of her siblings, Nikolai and Anna, died at the hands of the Nazis in Tallinn
, Estonia in 1941. Another brother, Leopold, escaped and lived in London until his death.
She came to Paris to study music and art, making the acquaintance of Aristide Maillol
. Then, surrounded by galleries and salons, she "instinctively felt a correlation between the rhythms of music and sculpture" and developed her sculptural vision. Gordin gallicized her surname by adding an "e".
In 1925 she worked as a painter on a mural for the British Pavilion at the Decorative Arts Exhibition. It provided the means to cast a bronze for exhibition at the Beaux Arts Society. The following year she was invited to exhibit at the Salon des Tuileries
where her design of the head & torso of a Chinese philosopher earned enthusiastic reviews; The Straits Times (1932) wrote: "Like Byron, one morning Dora Gordine woke up famous". Between 1929 and 1935 she sculpted bronzes for the City Hall, Singapore
. The Leicester Galleries in London presented Gordine's sculpture in a solo show in 1928. It was a huge success and all her work was sold, amongst which Javanese Head was bought by Samuel Courtauld
for the Tate Gallery
collection.
, Dame Beryl Grey, Dorothy Tutin
, Siân Phillips
, Emlyn Williams
, Sir Kenneth Clark
, John Pope-Hennessy and Professor F. Brown, Head of the Slade School of Art. There were also overseas commissions including the Philosopher Kuu Nim, whose head sculpture Gordine called 'the Chinese Lady of Peace' and a bas-relief at Gray's Inn
to Sun Yat-Sen
, the former leader of China.
Each portrait head had its own patina according to Gordine's vision of her sitter. When interviewed by the BBC in 1972 Gordine commented that "when you do portrait busts of somebody you do their noses and mouth - but it is nothing. You have to imagine what they are like inside and bring out their inner feeling and then put it in a form".
During the 1940s/50s Gordine's work was exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, the Society of Portrait Sculptors and elsewhere. Bronzes from this time have ironic or humorous titles, relating to the pose, such as 'Great Expectations' or 'Mischief' and, of an RAF Officer, 'Above Cloud'. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors in 1949. She occasionally did exotic or erotic pieces (e.g. for Elizabeth Choy
). She travelled and lectured in America, working in Hollywood in 1948 and revisited the USA in 1959. .
In 1948 she was commissioned to produce a sculpture to stand in the new mother and baby unit at Holloway Prison in north London. 'Happy Baby' was largely forgotten by 2009 languishing in an administration block at the prison for many years. Now regarded as an important piece in 'La Gordine's' professional history it formed the centre piece of an exhibition of her work at Kingston University
in February–March 2009.
In 1960 Esso
commissioned a 7' x 5' bas-relief 'Power' for their new Milford Haven Refinery, which was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh. Gordine's last public commission, the 8' long 'Mother and Child' was made for the entrance hall of the Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey, in 1963.
.
In subsequent years her work was to be revived by major exhibitions in London in 2006 at the Ben Uri Gallery in the London Jewish Museum of Art, and in 2009 at Dorich House and Kingston University
.
Early career to 1939
Dora Gordine's childhood has not been well documented. There is confusion over her date of birth with various dates 1895 (likely), 1898 and 1906 mentioned. She was the youngest of four children born to Morduch ("Mark")Gordin and Esther (née Schepschelevitch) in Liepāja
Liepaja
Liepāja ; ), is a republican city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea directly at 21°E. It is the largest city in the Kurzeme Region of Latvia, the third largest city in Latvia after Riga and Daugavpils and an important ice-free port...
, Latvia, at a time when it was still part of the Russian Empire. Two of her siblings, Nikolai and Anna, died at the hands of the Nazis in Tallinn
Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies an area of with a population of 414,940. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list...
, Estonia in 1941. Another brother, Leopold, escaped and lived in London until his death.
She came to Paris to study music and art, making the acquaintance of Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol
Aristide Maillol or Aristides Maillol was a French Catalan sculptor and painter.-Biography:...
. Then, surrounded by galleries and salons, she "instinctively felt a correlation between the rhythms of music and sculpture" and developed her sculptural vision. Gordin gallicized her surname by adding an "e".
In 1925 she worked as a painter on a mural for the British Pavilion at the Decorative Arts Exhibition. It provided the means to cast a bronze for exhibition at the Beaux Arts Society. The following year she was invited to exhibit at the Salon des Tuileries
Salon des Tuileries
The Salon des Tuileries was an annual art exhibition for painting and sculpture, created June 14, 1923, co-founded by painter Albert Besnard, sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, architect Auguste Perret, and others....
where her design of the head & torso of a Chinese philosopher earned enthusiastic reviews; The Straits Times (1932) wrote: "Like Byron, one morning Dora Gordine woke up famous". Between 1929 and 1935 she sculpted bronzes for the City Hall, Singapore
City Hall, Singapore
The City Hall in Singapore is a national monument gazetted on 14 February 1992. Located in front of the historical Padang and next door to the Supreme Court of Singapore, it was designed and built by the architects of the municipal government, A. Gordans and F. D. Meadows from 1926 to 1929...
. The Leicester Galleries in London presented Gordine's sculpture in a solo show in 1928. It was a huge success and all her work was sold, amongst which Javanese Head was bought by Samuel Courtauld
Samuel Courtauld
Samuel Courtauld may refer to:*Samuel Courtauld , American-born British industrialist*Samuel Courtauld , businessman and art collector; great-nephew of the above...
for the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
collection.
Marriage
In 1936 she married the Hon. Richard Gilbert Hare (5 September 1907–1966), son of Richard Granville Hare, 4th Earl of Listowel and Freda Vanden-Bempde-Johnstone on 21 November 1936. They lived at Dorich House, London.Career
Her husband introduced her to London society figures, many of whom sat for her, Dame Edith EvansEdith Evans
Dame Edith Mary Evans, DBE was a British actress. She was known for her work on the British stage. She also appeared in a number of films, for which she received three Academy Award nominations, plus a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award.Evans was particularly effective at portraying haughty...
, Dame Beryl Grey, Dorothy Tutin
Dorothy Tutin
Dame Dorothy Tutin DBE was an English actor of stage, film, and television.An obituary in The Daily Telegraph described her as "one of the most enchanting, accomplished and intelligent leading ladies on the post-war British stage...
, Siân Phillips
Siân Phillips
Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
, Emlyn Williams
Emlyn Williams
George Emlyn Williams, CBE , known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh dramatist and actor.-Biography:He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Mostyn, Flintshire....
, Sir Kenneth Clark
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
, John Pope-Hennessy and Professor F. Brown, Head of the Slade School of Art. There were also overseas commissions including the Philosopher Kuu Nim, whose head sculpture Gordine called 'the Chinese Lady of Peace' and a bas-relief at Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
to Sun Yat-Sen
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese doctor, revolutionary and political leader. As the foremost pioneer of Nationalist China, Sun is frequently referred to as the "Father of the Nation" , a view agreed upon by both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China...
, the former leader of China.
Each portrait head had its own patina according to Gordine's vision of her sitter. When interviewed by the BBC in 1972 Gordine commented that "when you do portrait busts of somebody you do their noses and mouth - but it is nothing. You have to imagine what they are like inside and bring out their inner feeling and then put it in a form".
During the 1940s/50s Gordine's work was exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy, the Society of Portrait Sculptors and elsewhere. Bronzes from this time have ironic or humorous titles, relating to the pose, such as 'Great Expectations' or 'Mischief' and, of an RAF Officer, 'Above Cloud'. She was elected a Fellow of the Royal British Society of Sculptors in 1949. She occasionally did exotic or erotic pieces (e.g. for Elizabeth Choy
Elizabeth Choy
Elizabeth Choy-Yong Su-Moi OBE was a Singaporean war heroine, educator and councillor. Along with her husband, Choy Khun Heng, she supplied medicine, money and messages to British civilians interned in Changi Prison during the Second World War....
). She travelled and lectured in America, working in Hollywood in 1948 and revisited the USA in 1959. .
In 1948 she was commissioned to produce a sculpture to stand in the new mother and baby unit at Holloway Prison in north London. 'Happy Baby' was largely forgotten by 2009 languishing in an administration block at the prison for many years. Now regarded as an important piece in 'La Gordine's' professional history it formed the centre piece of an exhibition of her work at Kingston University
Kingston University
Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
in February–March 2009.
In 1960 Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
commissioned a 7' x 5' bas-relief 'Power' for their new Milford Haven Refinery, which was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh. Gordine's last public commission, the 8' long 'Mother and Child' was made for the entrance hall of the Royal Marsden Hospital, Surrey, in 1963.
Widowhood
Her husband's sudden death in 1966 from a heart attack left Gordine to live out her life alone in Dorich House. She had no children. Her career ended in the 1970s.Death
She died in Dorich House in December 1991, aged around 96. A building of architectural importance, it is now owned by Kingston UniversityKingston University
Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
.
In subsequent years her work was to be revived by major exhibitions in London in 2006 at the Ben Uri Gallery in the London Jewish Museum of Art, and in 2009 at Dorich House and Kingston University
Kingston University
Kingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
.
Major exhibitions
- Salon de Tuileries, Paris (1926, 1933)
- Leicester Galleries, London (1928, 1933, 1938, 1945, 1949)
- Royal Academy of Arts (1937–1941, 1944–1950, 1952–1960)
- Battersea Park Arts Council (1948)
- Fine Art Society, London (1986)
- The London Jewish Museum of Art (2006)
- Kingston University, London (2009)
External links
- http://www.dorichhouse.com Dorich House
- http://www.benuri.org.uk/Exotic.htm Ben Uri Gallery, London Jewish Museum of ArtBen Uri GalleryThe Ben Uri Gallery is a gallery of Jewish art in London, currently sited at 108a Boundary Road, St John's Wood, London NW8 0RH. It is the only museum in Europe to be dedicated to Jewish art...
- http://www.scholars.nus.edu.sg/landow/post/singapore/arts/sculptors/gordine/index.html University Scholars Programme Project
- http://www.kingston.ac.uk/pressoffice/latestnews/2009/january/14-Jailbreak-baby-goes-on-the-run-from-Holloway/ Kingston University website