Louise Nevelson (American, 1899–1988), Nightscape III, 1974, wood, Museum Purchase with the aid of funds from the Cincinnati Art Museum Women's Committee, Pogue's and the National Endowment for the Arts, 1975.264. photo credit: The Cincinnati Enquirer

In September 1976, the Cincinnati Enquirer announced, "Nevelson Sculpture Unveiled at Art Museum." The article's accompanying photo (above, complete with original editor's notes) shows Mrs. Donald J. Jacobs (right) admiring Nightscape III, along with Millard F. Rogers, the museum's director, and Nina Rogers (left) at the "Fall Affair" fundraiser.

Louise Nevelson (American, 1899–1988), Nightscape III, 1974, wood, Museum Purchase with the aid of funds from the Cincinnati Art Museum Women's Committee, Pogue's and the National Endowment for the Arts, 1975.264. Franz Kline (American, 1910–1962), Horizontal Rust, 1960, oil on canvas, The Edwin and Virginia Irwin Memorial, 1982.85

Today, you can see Nevelson's Nightscape III in Gallery 230 (along with Franz Kline's painting, Horizontal Rust, on back wall.) Nevelson's assemblage consists of 12 wood boxes with plywood overlays. The incised diagonal lines give texture to surface, while the voids provide a sense of depth. The entire sculpture is painted black, in Nevelson's typical fashion.

Louise Nevelson (American, 1899–1988), Untitled, 1973, color aquatint with foil collage, Gift by her friends in memory of Emily C. Poole, 1973.621

One of CAM's earliest acquisitions of a Nevelson piece is this untitled aquatint made in 1973. The rectilinear format echoes the artist's box-like assemblages of the 1960s and 70s. In Louise Nevelson as Printmaker (1974) CAM's Curator of Prints Kristin Spangenberg wrote, "(Nevelson's) newest series, 'Aquatints,' parallels the increasing surface refinement and minimal form which appeared in her sculpture after the mid '60s."

William R. Devine, 1977, The Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A.

In the 1970s, Nevelson began creating large, outdoor sculptural works for public spaces — typically constructed of steel and aluminum and painted black — including seven sculptures for New York City's Legion Memorial Square in downtown Manhattan. Nevelson was highly involved in the design of the triangular-shaped site, even selecting the trees, plantings, and bench materials. A year after unveiling the works in 1977, the city re-named the square "Louise Nevelson Plaza."

Louise Nevelson, Mayor Ed Koch and David Rockefeller at Chase Manhattan Plaza opening, 1978 Sept. 14. Louise Nevelson papers, circa 1903-1982. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

New York City officially inaugurated "Louise Nevelson Plaza" in September 1978, increasing Nevelson's celebrity status. Here, a crowd surrounds the artist as she is congratulated by New York Mayor Ed Koch and Chase Manhattan Bank CEO David Rockerfeller. Several months later, CBS Sunday Morning broadcast a story and interview with the artist titled "Sculptor Louise Nevelson", spreading her fame well beyond New York City.

Left: Federated Building, now 7 W. Seventh Apartments. photo credit: The Cincinnati Enquirer
Right: Louise Nevelson (American, 1899–1988), Maquette for Sky Landscape II, circa 1980, steel and paint, Bequest of Gladys K. Lazarus, 2015.182

Meanwhile, back in Cincinnati ... Ralph Lazarus, chairman of Federated Department Stores, Inc., moved his firm's headquarters form NYC to downtown Cincinnati, constructing the new Federated Building, opened in 1979.  Lazarus also developed a corporate art collection in consultation with the Museum of Modern Art. One of the collection's star pieces included a commissioned sculpture by Louise Nevelson — Sky Landscape II — which graced the skyscraper's entryway on Seventh Street. Nevelson's maquette for the work, pictured above, now resides in the Cincinnati Art Museum's collection.

Louise Nevelson, Sky Landscape II, 1980. photo credit: The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Nevelson collaborated with Lippincott Foundry in North Haven, Connecticut, to construct Sky Landscape II. The foundry cut the sculpture's individual elements from COR-TEN steel, welded the pieces together, then painted the completed sculpture black — all under Nevelson's direct supervision. The finished work traveled by truck to Cincinnati and was installed on a granite-covered concrete platform located just outside the Federated Building's main entrance at 7 W. Seventh Street — right on the edge of the sidewalk along the curb!

Photo: The Cincinnati Enquirer

Nevelson's Sky Landscape II stands 18 feet tall by 10 feet wide and 3 feet deep — yet when installed at street level in front of the 21-story-tall Federated Building, the sculpture became almost invisible, overpowered by the size and scale of the high rise. The gold circle indicates the original location of the work, barely visible as a black silhouette. Nevelson was reportedly not happy with the location on the north side of building. The sculpture remained in shadow most of the day, flattening the appearance of its three-dimensional forms.

photo credit: The Cincinnati Enquirer

Sky Landscape II was much more appreciated at street level, providing pedestrians with a nice place to sit and relax! This photo was taken on the occasion of the 1987 National Sculpture Conference: Works by Women, hosted in Cincinnati.

Federated Department Stores, Inc., moved back to New York in 1993 and gifted Sky Landscape II to the City of Cincinnati. Nevelson's work now enjoys a home on the grounds of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Although not as accessible in its current location (a forest of rose bushes keeps passersby from touching the artwork!), Sky Landscape II can now bask in the sunlight as Louise Nevelson had originally intended.