An artist revisited. Tag sale in my booth
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I am going to add this to refer back to my research day in Washington DC for you to check out. https://www.madmodworldvintage.com/blog-adirondack/2016/8/17/research-day-bruno-mankowski-sculptor-medalist
When I first started buying lots of inventory, I was invited to a sad home that was decaying in a moist, streamside holler. There were floor board soft spots and signs of too much moisture. I plucked this amazing tabletop sculpture piece from the ruins and brought her home, cleaned her up and she has been mine ever since. The artist is the late Bruno Mankowski, WPA sculptor who was tasked with rehabbing one of the pediments on the Capitol building. He also completed a few post office projects during that era and if you have been in an old post office building, you can find a remaining mural or two created during this era which is cool. Mankowski also designed bronze medals. I recently toured the Philadelphia Mint where they produce many current day medals and have artists on staff to design them. Numismatics refers to the study of collecting money and medals. You can readily find Mankowski’s medals pop up on eBay. I do have the Asa Gray medal in my collection. They are quite detailed and fun to study, being larger than a typical coin.
I have discussed this artist in my blog years ago now and am thrilled to have heard from a few folks that also own or found one of the kneeling nude sculptures in a friend or relatives collection. Although I was able to view a glossy brochure about her, no where in the records did I find info on how many were produced. I do suspect she was the only commercially sold sculpture made by him.
Another thrilling comment on the blog I linked above states some family history of Mr Mankowski and his interaction with those close to him which was so lovely to read. Be sure to read the comment at the bottom of the page!
I recently came to find a small clay sculpture by him for sale on eBay. It’s a maquette piece which a sculptor would make out of inexpensive materials while working out ideas for larger pieces which would be cast in bronze or other materials like stone. Think of it as a way to make the sketches and ideas come to life in a 3 dimensional form, a rough draft if you will. It came from Florida, which is where he lived at the end of his life and where his manager/lawyer was based. His entire records were donated to the Smithsonian by this management and that is what I perused in the blog post referenced above. Please check out for my experience requesting to view these documents in person as it was a fun experience. My photos are under copyright that I took there so I cannot publish them but I did take photos and photocopies that day that I could keep for myself.
Back to the new acquisition! She is roughly carved, very beautiful and mounted on a lovely formed wood base. His name carved into the lying woman’s thigh. The clay tings high like a ceramic when touched. Very happy she survived all these years! At only about 7” long by 3” wide, she is much smaller than my Kneeling Nude piece. That piece is very refined and smooth to the touch and was carved in foundry stone. This lying lady is showing every scrape of his tool but the details are quite amazing! From the tiny toes to the hair texture. I was very thrilled to add her and I did deliberate a bit on the purchase. I finally thought, what are the chances of something like this coming up for sale again? My Kneeling Nude does pop up on eBay because quite a few were produced, but I have never seen other works besides the Medallic pieces. So I made an offer I was more comfortable with and the seller accepted! She did not deep dive into the artist and in fact did not know his first name. This siggy says Mankowski and my Kneeling Nude is signed Mankowski but includes the SC SCULPTURE SOCIETY logo and copyright symbol as that piece was made to be sold to the public.
I want to go back to DC and look through those totes again!!! Lucky for me I may be getting back there for work at some point this year so if I can swing a visit during office hours, I am so there!
The Archives of American Art collects primary source materials—original letters, writings, preliminary sketches, scrapbooks, photographs, financial records and the like—that have significant research value for the study of art in America. …from their website asa.si.edu
You can support the Archives of American Art by monetary donation (non profit) and also there are volunteer opportunities to transcribe documents they have digitized to make them more searchable and accessible. Mankowski’s totes have not yet been digitized but I suspect at some point they will be. Here is a link to his page, peruse their site for lots of cool resources. If you have a published artist in your life who is no longer with us, consider donating their catalogs and records to this fine organization to keep their memories and works alive for generations to come. Their works are out there as gifts to friends nd family and maybe they even sold some over their years. They will turn up on the secondary market at some point and these records help complete their provenance and story!
https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/bruno-mankowski-papers-11011
Thanks for following my blog and caring about this history! I do appreciate it very much and most of the time I just want to give up on it as I lose more followers than I gain these days. As I continue to downsize my inventory I will be looking to cut expenses. Unsure at this point how long I will keep my website active. For now it is safe, but will see as the year goes on.
Please stop by my booth and grab some great items! I added tags to 100 pieces for a special clearance sale! 25% off if you pay cash, 15% if you use a card. Help me clear this booth out! I have more furniture I can add after some leave. All furniture in the booth is on sale, most of the lighting and lots and lots of art and collectibles. Help a sister out and rehome some of this. I currently barely selling enough to cover my monthly expenses and I probably missed breaking even on the rent out there by $150 and that does not include the cost of the items. It’s bleak right now and my ❤️ is sad but I need to keep trudging towards the exit here as I don’t want to keep losing. Having a non productive business costs money and I need to get out 100% or it needs to start producing. If things were selling I would be more apt to sourcing more inventory but this stagnate space we are in is killing my vibe.
Best wishes for a happy 2025! Reach out if I can assist you in adding a fine piece of furniture to your home while I still have some!
XO MALISSA
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