 ibram lassaw (1913â2003) is an american sculptor, known for nonobjective construction in brazed metals. ==biography== lassaw was born in alexandria, egypt, of russian Ã©migrÃ© parents, he went to the u.s. in 1921. his family settled in brooklyn, new york. he became a us citizen in 1928. he first studied sculpture in 1926 at the clay club and later at the beaux-arts institute of design in new york. he made abstract paintings and drawings influenced by kandinsky, sophie taeuber-arp, and other artists. he also attended the city college of new york.philips, lisa. the third dimension: sculpture of the new york school. whitney museum of american art, 1984, p. 76. influenced by his study of art history and readings in european art magazines, lassaw began to make sculpture in the late 1920s. he was among the "small group of artists committed themselves to abstract art during the 1930s."the american century: art & culture 1900-1950 p. 284 in his work, ibram lassaw "replaced the monolithic solidity of cast metal with open-space constructions obtained by welding."the american century: art & culture 1900-1950 p. 289 during the mid-1930s, lassaw worked briefly for the public works of art project cleaning sculptural monuments around new york city. he subsequently joined the wpa as a teacher and sculptor until he was drafted into the army in 1942. lassaw's contribution to the advancement of sculptural abstraction went beyond mere formal innovation; his promotion of modernist styles during the 1930s did much to insure the growth of abstract art in the united states. he was one of the founding members of the american abstract artists group, gregory gilbert, "ibram lassaw," in beyond the plane, american constructions 1930-1965, exhibition catalogue, ed. jennifer toher (trenton, nj: new jersey state museum, 1983), 71. and served as president of the american abstract artists organization from 1946 to 1949. lassaw is a sculptor who was a part of the [[new york school (ar
1913_births 2003_deaths Abstract_expressionist_artists American_artists American_people_of_Egyptian-Jewish_descent American_people_of_Russian-Jewish_descent American_sculptors Artists_from_New_York_City Egyptian_Jews Egyptian_emigrants_to_the_United_States Jewish_American_artists Jewish_sculptors People_from_Alexandria People_from_Brooklyn Public_Works_of_Art_Project