Nessa Cohen, born Helen Nessa Cohen, (December 11, 1885 – December 1976) was an American sculptor, born in New York City.[American Jewish Committee; Jewish Publication Society of America. American Jewish year book. American Jewish Committee; 1922. p. 129.] She exhibited in the 1913 Armory Show.
Early life
Cohen was born on December 11, 1884, in New York City. Her parents were Pauline and Adolph Cohen, who were both of German and Russian heritage. Her father was a lawyer born in Germany. She had an older sister named Sadie.
[Record for Helen N. Cohen. 1900 Manhattan, New York, New York; Roll: 1120; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0879; FHL microfilm: 1241120. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls.][Record for Helen Cohen - born December 11, 1884 and died December 1976. Social Security Administration. Social Security Death Index, Master File. Social Security Administration.]
Education
A graduate of
Barnard College, Cohen studied sculpture with James Earle Fraser at the Art Students League and at the
Cooper Union.
She also studied with
Despiau and
Charles Malfray in Paris.
[Petteys, Chris, Dictionary of Women Artists, G K Hill & Co. publishers, 1985]
Career
Before 1913 the American Museum of Natural History provided monies to Cohen so that she and other artists could travel to the southwest to study individuals from six Native American tribes to capture their clothes and features. The resulting works included
Sunrise. The sketches that she presented to the museum so that they could assess her skills before sending her to the southwest resulted in the
Hopi Relay Runner.[ I Prefer the Navajo Rug: Locating an American Primitive . The Museum of American Studies. University of Virginia. Retrieved February 7, 2014.]
Cohen showed three pieces at the Armory Show in New York, two plaster pieces Age and Portrait and the bronze Sunrise.[Brown, Milton W., The Story of the Armory Show, The Joseph H. Hirshhorn Foundation, 1963, p. 232]
Sunrise was also exhibited at the 1916 Annual American Exhibition in Chicago, as was the bronze The Velvet Cap, Joy and Card tray: Hospitality.[Art Institute of Chicago. Annual American Exhibition [of] Paintings and Sculpture. The Art Institute of Chicago. 1916.]
She was a member of the National Sculpture Society and exhibited a piece, Moment Musicale in the society's 1923 show. Cohen was also a member of the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, New York Architectural League and the Society of Independent Artists.[National Sculpture Society, Exhibition of American Sculpture Catalogue, National Sculpture Society, NY 1923, pp. 258, 327] Her work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1928 Summer Olympics.
She traveled to Italy and France.[YIVO Archives. Guide to the YIVO Archives. M.E. Sharpe; 1998. . p. 56.]
Death
Cohen died in December, 1976.
She donated funds to the Art Students League of New York for the Nessa Cohen Memorial Fund for art students' housing, education and travel expenses.
[Art Students League (New York, N.Y.) The Art Students League. The League; 1978. p. 23.][Schoolhouse Partners LLC. Directory of Research Grants 2008. AuthorHouse; May 2008. . p. 87.]
Works
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Age, plaster
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Card tray: Hospitality
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Group of Indians of Southwestern United States, American Museum of Natural History.
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Joy
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Navajo Watching Women at Work
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Portrait, plaster
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Sunrise, bronze, Havana, Cuba
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The Velvet Cap
