Benedict Tatti: Sculpture and Paintings A Selection of Works, 1940s through 1960s

Small Bronzes from Two Distinguished Private Collections

by Antoine-Louis Barye (French 1796-1875)

BENEDICT TATTI

October 9th - November 8th, 2019

Sculpture and Paintings

A Selection of Works, 1940s through 1960s

Published by Graham Shay 1857, 2021 All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in any part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of Graham Shay 1857 Design by Clanci Jo Conover Cover illustration: Head, c. 1960 Marble, limestone, and granite mounted on wood base 11 3/4 H. x 5 1/2 W. x 6 1/2 D. inches Essay illustration: Bird in Flight, c. 1950s Marble 12 3/4 H. x 7 1/4 W. inches Signed on base: TATTI

Benedict Tatti Sculpture and Paintings A Selection of Works, 1940s through 1960s

March 10 through April 9, 2021

17 East 67th Street, 1A, New York, NY 10065 212.535.5767 | info@grahamshay.com grahamshay.com

Multimedia artist Benedict Tatti combined the originality of a self-taught artist with the sophistication of a vanguard artist and the technical know-how of a trained artisan. In truth, he was not strictly any one of these things, but a bit of all of them. He was adept in the wide range of media and methodologies of 20th century sculpture, even including video art.

Tatti’s “day” jobs may have been what kept his vision fresh, as they were tangential to but not in the thick of the art world: from 1952 to 1963, he worked for the influential design firm of Raymond Loewy, developing and making models for real-life and prototypical objects: following that, he taught sculpture to city kids at the High School for Art and Design in New York City, for which his temperament seemed marvelously suited. These are some of the reasons we may not yet know Tatti’s name.

Tatti and his wife Adele made regular visits to the artist’s mecca of Monhegan Island, where he further developed his watercolors. He attended Hans Hofmann’s classes on Eighth Street in New York for two-and-a-half years. Here he could pick up on contemporary currents, while benefiting from Hofmann’s critiques of students works. The result was a freeing up of Tatti's concepts of space, as well as a gradual lean towards abstraction.

An inveterate learner, Tatti visited the Met and the Modern, the Museum of Natural History and the Central Park Zoo – all fodder for his sculpture. A walk in the city was always a treasure hunt, with demolition sites yielding troves of sculptural media – from building materials to everyday objects.

Cynthia Nadelman, 2007

Kinetic Welded steel and paint 61 H. x 16 W. x 16 D. inches Signed on base: TATTI

Excalibur Welded steel and paint 45 H. x 15 W. x 13 1/5 D. inches Signed on base: TATTI

Abstract Figure Welded chain link 41 H. x 12 1/4 W. x 10 D. inches

Owl Steel and paint 16 1/2 H. x 7 W. x 3 1/2 D. inches

Abstract Form Welded pickaxes 36 H. x 11 W. x 11 D. inches Signed on base: TATTI

Head, c. 1960 Marble, limestone, and granite mounted on a wood base 11 3/4 H. x 5 1/2 W. x 6 1/2 D. inches

Two Figures Welded steel 24 H. x 36 W. x 22 D. inches

Horse Welded steel and paint 20 H. x 26 1/4 W. x 5 3/4 D. inches Signed: TATTI

Geometric, c. 1960 Welded steel 16 H. x 16 W. x 12 D. inches

Tree Welded bronze and slag 16 H. x 11 W. x 13 D. inches

Oriental, c. 1975 Steel 22 1/2 H. x 15 W. x 8 D. inches Signed: TATTI

Abstract Composition Torn steel 14 H. x 16 W. x 16 1/2 D. inches

Reclining Nude Marble 5 3/4 H. x 7 3/4 W. x 1 D. inches Signed: TATTI

Abstract Form, c. 1960s Wood, paint, stain 9 1/2 H. x 7 3/4 W. x 4 1/2 D. inches Signed: TATTI; Inscribed beneath base: BEN TATTI / 214 E. 39th St. / N.Y.C.

Head of Christ and Thorns Granite and steel 22 H. x 14 W. inches

Bird, c. 1970 Soldered sheet lead 5 1/2 H. x 6 3/4 W. inches Signed on base: TATTI

Lead Abstraction VI, c. 1970 Soldered lead and wire 3 3/4 H. x 6 3/4 W. inches Signed on base: TATTI

Lead Abstraction V, c. 1970 Soldered lead 6 1/8 H. x 7 W. inches Signed on base: TATTI

Lead Abstraction IV, c. 1970 Soldered lead 3 1/4 H. x 6 1/4 W. inches Signed on base: TATTI

Face in the Mirror, c. 1955 Oil on canvas 20 H. x 16 W. inches

Monhegan Island, Maine, 1960 Watercolor on paper 15 1/4 H. x 11 1/4 W. inches Signed, titled, and dated on verso

Seagull Feeding Frenzy, Moneghan, 1959 Watercolor on paper 14 H. x 20 W. inches Signed lower right; Titled, estate stamped, and dated verso

Seagulls, Moneghan, c. 1955 Watercolor on paper 16 1/2 H. x 14 1/2 W. inches

Monhegan Island, Maine, 1947 Watercolor on paper 7 1/2 H. x 11 W. inches Signed, titled, and dated verso

Maine Coast, Monhegan Island, 1950 Watercolor on paper 14 1/2 H. x 19 3/4 W. inches Signed and dated lower right Titled, estate stamped, and dated verso

17 East 67th Street, 1A, New York, NY 10065 212.535.5767 info@grahamshay.com grahamshay.com