Page 344 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Genre: modern

Once again placing his subject in the “barrel” chair, AR
produced another female reader. Fannie Rothstein might have
been the inspiration, since this is a modern woman with
uncovered head. Her dress is long, reaching to her feet, but it
has a V-neck and no collar. The book is closed and in her lap,
indicating perhaps that she is not merely literate, but thinks
about what she has read.

103 Standing woman
Wood
10.5” x 2.25”

Wearing a long dress, short jacket and scarf, this lady appears
ready for a ride in an open carriage or touring car. The scarf
she is tying around her neck goes over her hat, to keep it from
being blown off in the breeze. This would have been a
common sight in the early history of motoring in Southern
California. The figure stands on a thematically unrelated block
pedestal.

53 Standing woman
Wood
17.5” x 5.75”

AR intended this smiling figure to be alluring, like that of the
mermaid (no. 16). In this case, the woman is wearing the most
“attractive” clothing to be seen in his works: a belted sleeveless
dress (with lightly incised shoulder straps), draped softly in bias
folds. One hand, like the mermaid’s, is in her hair (a standard
pin-up pose lifting and emphasizing the bosom); the other
demurely, but no less provocatively, holds a flower at her waist.
If this piece of sculpture represents anyone specific, that
identification has been lost.

144 Woman with a parasol
Wood
8.75” x 2.25”

340