Image Donated by Corbis-Bettmann

Louise Nevelson 1899-1988

Born Louise Berliawsky in Ukraine, artist Louise Nevelson is known for her abstract expressionist "crates" - monumental, box-shaped sculptures made out of wood and everyday discarded items. After wedding wealthy ship-owner Charles Nevelson in 1920, she moved to New York, where she later joined a circle of artists that included Diego Rivera and Ben Shahn. She served as an apprentice to Rivera, assisting with his controversial mural, "Man at the Crossroads," for Rockefeller Center in New York City. In 1935, Nevelson entered her first group exhibition, organized by the Brooklyn Museum, and, in 1967, the turning point of her career, the Whitney Museum organized the first retrospective of her work. In 1963 Nevelson represented the United States at the Venice Biennale.