Contemporary Visions: Two Distinguished Private Collections including Property from the Estate of Ruth Miles Pite

Note:

This work is accompanied by a signed photo certificate dated September 1992.

Provenance:

Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York.

Acquired from the above in 1987.

Exhibited:

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, Paintings and Sculpture by Candidates for Art Awards, February 29 - March 27, 1988, no. 78.

American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York, Exhibition of Work by Newly Elected Members and Recipients of Awards, May 18 - June 12, 1988.

Lot note:

Daisy Youngblood (b. 1945) is an American sculptor and ceramic artist known for her raw, musing works that combine figuration and abstract forms with earthy materials. Though not a household name, Youngblood’s work has quietly captivated sharp-eyed collectors and major institutions alike, with pieces held in permanent collections at the Museum of Modern Art, NY, the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art — a testament to her significance.

In Untitled (Elephant), Youngblood reduces the monumental into the minimal, stripping the familiar form of the elephant down to its most essential gestures. Rendered in low-fire clay, the sculpture feels at once ancient and immediate — like an artifact unearthed from a forgotten civilization, but unmistakably contemporary in its stark materiality.

Youngblood’s skilled use of clay isn’t about perfection, but rather presence. Every irregular surface invites us to consider fragility not as weakness, but as something inherently powerful. The delicate balance between existence and impermanence. The elephant, often a symbol of wisdom and strength, here becomes something quieter, more meditative.

Part sculpture, part relic, part psychological portrait, Untitled (Elephant) captures the strange poetry at the heart of Youngblood’s practice and stands as a captivating addition to any discerning collection.