Sculptor Louise Nevelson was born September 23, 1899 in Pereiaslav, Ukraine. To mark what would be her 125th birthday, we take a look at the connections between Nevelson and Columbia, now and then. 

Did you know that Louise Nevelson received an honorary degree from Columbia at the 1977 Commencement?

In 1977, Louise Nevelson was awarded an honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters by University President William McGill at Commencement. The citation recognized her “major contributions to the artistic life of America.”

… Your rich and sonorous work is equaled by your dramatic presence. With the flair of an irresistible original, you have turned your life into art. Your environments have become the context of our lives, environments that, like creation, separate light from darkness — the colors of tỉme.

You have had above all the great artist’s gift of persistence. You have watched movements, fashions and revolutions come and go, and you have waited with dignity and pride until modern sculpture paid homage to you as one of its masters. Your work is made of many compartments, containing humble things transformed by black and white and gold. You have splendidly furnished one of art’s many mansions.

For your courage, character and wit, for your incomparable achievement, Columbia University is honored to confer upon you the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa.

Did you know that a Louise Nevelson oral history interview is available at the RBML?

In 1977, Nevelson was interviewed by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel as part of the recorded sessions of “Inside New York’s Art World,” a course featuring interviews with artists at the New School. Both the transcript and the digitized audio of the Nevelson interview are available from the Oral History Archive at Columbia (OHAC) at the RBML. In the interview, Nevelson discusses her commission for St. Peter’s Church or the Chapel of the Good Shepherd (yes, Louise Nevelson’s work in white); the origins of environmental art; and the psyche of the artist.

Did you know that the RBML holds one of Louise Nevelson’s works?

When Francis Steegmuller (CC 1927; MA 1928) received the National Book Award in Translation for his edition of The Letters of Gustave Flaubert in 1981, he was presented with a sculpture by Louise Nevelson. In 1982, Steegmuller added the black wooden sculpture to his collection of papers at the RBML. The Nevelson sculpture was also part of an exhibition, Gifts of 1982, on the 3rd floor of Butler Library in the fall of 1982. 

Did you know about Columbia art history and archeology professor Julia Bryan-Wilson’s research on Louise Nevelson’s work?

Prof. Bryan-Wilson’s Louise Nevelson’s Sculpture: Drag, Color, Join, Face came out in June 2023. Columbia News interviewed the author in March 2024 about her latest work, current research and every author’s “favorite” question: the dream dinner party guests. Prof. Bryan-Wilson and Pace Gallery Founder and Chair Arne Glimcher also held a conversation at the Arts Student League to celebrate Nevelson at 125 on October 1, 2024.