Jose de Creeft

b. 1884, Guadalajara, Spain
d. 1982, New York, New York

 A major contributor to modernist sculpture, Spanish-born artist Jose de Creeft experienced early international success in Paris before establishing himself as an artist in America. In addition to his widely celebrated sculptural work, which includes Central Park’s Alice in Wonderland sculpture, de Creeft’s paintings are equally significant as they allowed the artist to express his ideas that transcended carved forms.  

De Creeft’s early training as a draftsman began in Madrid. In 1905, he continued this education in Paris after being encouraged by Auguste Rodin to enroll in the Académie Julien. Once in France, he befriended fellow Spaniards Juan Gris and Pablo Picasso. More abstract than his sculptures, de Creeft’s two-dimensional pieces allowed him to explore his imagination further and more rapidly document his thoughts.

In the early 1900s, De Creeft’s drawings employed an aesthetic of bold lines, harsh contours, and unshaded areas. His work a few decades later, while still striking in both curvature and linework, are filled with the appearance of female forms and maternal themes.

De Creeft’s work is held in many public collections, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C..