Albert Wein

American (1915-1991)

Albert Wein was born in 1915 in New York City. He studied at the Maryland Institute of Fine and Applied Arts, and later at the Beaux-Artes Institute of Design in New York. His teacher, Hans Hoffman, educated Wein on the modern theories of art. Wein practiced art as both a painter and a sculptor, but it was his sculpture that gained him recognition. In the 1930's, he worked for the WPA (Work's Project Administration) and in 1946, won the Prix de Rome, a distinguished award which allows artists to study at the American Academy in Rome. While Wein studied in Europe, he became increasingly inspired by the classical art of Italy. After returning to the United States, Wein received the Tiffany award for the sculpture "Demeter." In addition, "Phyrne before the Judges" was chosen to be placed at the Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina. Both of these sculptures were designed while Wein was at the American Academy in Rome. Later in the 1950s and 60s, Wein followed the trend towards abstraction but returned to figurative work in the 1970s. At that time he received a commission for the Libby Dam relief (1973), the largest granite relief in the United States. While his abstract works are well received, Wein felt that he had more to express by returning to figurative work, and was able to incorporate the formal design qualities that exploring pure abstraction for nearly twenty years had given him. Wein received almost every award possible for a figurative sculptor. In 1989, he received a fellowship, grant and residency at the Rockefeller Foundation's Study and Conference Center in Belie, Italy.