Description

What a find! This is a gorgeously carved sculpture of a female torso rendered in a creamy peach-colored alabaster. Hurst's blatant triangular treatment of the hips and legs is a clever contrast with the rounded curves of the upper body.  Just perfect.

Details

• Ralph N. Hurst (American, 1918-2003)
• Untitled, 1975
• Freeform carved alabaster on a marble base
  
• Signed and dated near base
  
• 9" tall, including base

About the Artist

Ralph Hurst Ralph Hurst was a Florida-based sculptor, artist, educator and curator.He is best known for his mastery of carving alabaster, a delicate stone that lends a living translucency to Hursts' animals, birds, and figures. Following studies at Indiana University under such luminaries as Robert Laurent, Hurst received an MFA in 1952. A long and illustrious career followed that including positions at such institutions as the Ogunquit Maine Museum of Art and Florida State University. He created thousands of works of sculpture and bas relief in realistic as well as modern shapes which reflect Hurst's talent for bringing "the soul of the stone" to life. His work has appeared in major museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and is included in many permanent personal and corporate collections. Hurst passed away in 2003. Left Bank Art Gallery in St. Simons Island Georgia, which has promoted his sculpture since 1975, held a retrospective of his work in 2014. A permanent collection of his work is on continual exhibition at the Ralph Hurst Gallery at Tallahassee Community College, Florida.