CONSTANTIN ANTONOVICI
(1911-2002)
SCULPTURES
WESTWOOD GALLERY NYC presented the premiere U.S. solo exhibition for Constantin Antonovici and represents the artwork and archive from the estate.
To inquire regarding prices for Constantin Antonovici sculptures, and to purchase any of the sculptures shown below, contact the gallery at info@westwoodgallery.com.
© Constantin Antonovici






























BIOGRAPHY
Antonovici was born in Neamt, Romania on February 18, 1911, and graduated from the Fine Arts Academy in Iasi, Romania, in 1939. In 1940, Antonovici studied in Zagreb with the famous Croatian sculptor Ivan Mestrovici, until his arrest by Italian fascists. Antonovici himself survived imprisonment in Germany for his refusal to fight on the side of the Nazis. After the war, he continued his studies in Vienna, under the tutelage of Professor Fritz Behn. In 1945 and again in 1947, Antonovici studied woodcarving in Tirol, Germany. He then traveled to Italy and finally to Paris where he met Constantin Brancusi, with whom he worked until 1951. Antonovici was the recipient of the only certificate Brancusi ever offered to a fellow sculptor. Even though artists more famous, such as Isamu Noguchi, Henry Moore, Jean Arp and Modigliani, collaborated with Brancusi, no one worked closer with the master than Antonovici.
Although Brancusi is often said to have given up on famous sculptors whom he did not consider worthy, Antonovici, thirty-five years his junior, captured his masters respect. He impressed by using a variety of materials, including wood, bronze, aluminum, marble, stone, and plastic. He also possessed an artistic lucidity that allowed him to stylize and simplify to find fundamental and essential forms, which was also central to Brancusi's art. Antonovici's recurring motif which surfaces almost obsessively throughout his creation was the owl, which he believed shared the sculptors capacity to see in the dark.
Antonovici moved to the United States in 1953, where he was given a studio and commissioned by the Cathedral St. John the Divine in New York City. During this period he created mostly ecumenical works, such as the marble lid of the coffin of Bishop William Manning, a stone cross on the Amsterdam Avenue side of the cathedral, 90 ft. from the street level, and portraits. Antonovici was highly prolific and widely recognized throughout his career. He exhibited in France, Italy, Romania, the US, and his sculptures were acquired by many private collectors. He was a member of the National Society of Literature and the Arts, the International Platform Association, and the National Sculptural Society, in addition to receiving an honorary medal from the Academy of Brazil. His bust of Dwight Eisenhower is part of the White House collection. Other classical busts he carved include Voltaire, Ludwig van Beethoven, Charles de Gaulle, Bishop William Manning, Ciprian Porumbescu (a Romanian composer), Brancusi, Homer, Moses, Mefistofel, Dali, Paulette. His work was reviewed and praised by numerous art critics including Alain Bosquet, Georges Boudaille, Michelle Seurier, Fritz Spitzer, Donelson F. Hoops, and Ralph Fabri. Constantin Antonovici died on Feb. 5th, 2002, in New York City. His work is in the permanent collection of the Kreeger Museum, Washington DC and a catalogue raissonee was published in 2013.
Artwork © The Estate of Constantin Antonovici
EXHIBITIONS
2021, OCT 30 - JAN 8
WESTWOOD GALLERY NYC
EXHIBITION HISTORY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 - Constantin Antonovici, Mythical Modernism: Sculptures, 1942-1975, Westwood Gallery NYC, New York
2004 - Constantin Antonovici, Gallery: Gertrude Stein, New York, NY
1964 - Mott Gunther Foundation, Washington D.C.
1964 - Corcoran Art Gallery, Washington D.C.
1961 - Philadelphia, PA
1959 - Mond'ART Galeries, New York, NY
1949 - 9 bis, Rue Jean-de-Beauvais, Paris, France
1946 - Innsbruck, Austria
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
1974 - National Sculpture Society, New York, NY
1973 - National Sculpture Society, New York, NY
1971 - National Sculpture Society, New York, NY
1969 - National Sculpture Society, New York, NY
1968 - National Sculpture Society, New York, NY
1967 - National Sculpture Society, New York, NY
1962 - Philadelphia, PA
1951 - Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France
1950 - Salon des Indépendants, Paris, France
1951 - Salon de l'Art Libre, Paris, France
1946 - Innsbruck, Austria
1944 - Vienna, Austria
1938 - Iasi, Romania
PRESS
2021 - Sculptor român, ucenic al lui Brâncuși, expus la New York, Revista Sinteza
2021 - Retrospectivă a sculptorului român Constantin Antonovici, la New York
2021 - Retrospectivă a sculptorului român Constantin Antonovici, Curatorial.ro
2021 - CONSTANTIN ANTONOVICI (1911-2002) SCULPTOR ROMÂN, Modernism.ro
1971 - Craiova, Romania by Diaconescu and Stoica
1971 - Cronica, Iasi, Romania by M. Costache
1970 - Today's Art, New York, NY by Ralph Fabri
1967 - Arges, Brasov, Romania by G. Alexe
1967 - Combat, Paris by Alain Bousquet
1964 - The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington by Donelson F. Hoopes, Curator
1964 - America, Detroit by M. Farcasanu
1964 - Sunday Star, Washington by Frank Getlein
1962 - Fiinta Romaneasca, London by Mihai Niculescu
1959 - Toledo Blade, Toledo, Ohio by Fritz Spitzer
1959 - Picture on Exhibit, New York
1954 - Living Church, New York by Canon E. West
1953 - La Presse, Montreal by De Repentigny
1952 - Opera, Paris by Michelle Seuriere
1951 - Arts, Paris by G. Boudaille
1950 - La Nation, Paris by Emanoel
1950 - La Revue Moderne, Paris by R. Clermont