Walnut in the Round

Posted by Mary Murray on November 4th 2011 | 0 Comments

Tags: Institute, Museum of Art, Institute’s 75th Anniversary, Raoul Hague

Raoul Hague (1904-93) lived and worked in Woodstock. He carved large tree trunks found in rural New York state and named his completed sculptures after these locations, such as Little Beaverkill Walnut (FYI: Little Beaver Kill, in Sullivan County, is one of several bodies of water that are renowned as the first fly-fishing venues in the United States). This marvelous sculpture is a recent gift from the Raoul Hague Foundation in honor of the Institute’s 75th Anniversary; it is on view now in the Enhancing a Legacy exhibition, in gallery 2 South.

 

Hague’s method of working was direct carving. That is, he didn’t make preliminary sketches or maquettes in advance. He was inspired by the tree trunks and followed their lines, explaining:

“One can orchestrate in the wood – I don’t have a clear idea when I start. I am not a conceptual artist.

“So you begin. You stare at it, and finally you have to do something. You are not making a story out of it. You make a cut. From then on it follows. Like the jazz musician, music comes out of you. You make one cut, then you become intimate. That thing becomes humanized, a being. It becomes part of my life for the next three or four months.”

In many cases, Hague’s sculptures do have a resemblance to human form, although they might just as often be non-representational. And it is important to circle around his sculpture to see the many different facets he carves into one side, then the next. They are truly carved in the round.

The Museum of Art has remarkable holdings in mid-20th-century paintings, but many fewer sculptures from the period, so we are very pleased to add the Hague to the collection and send sincere thanks to the Hague Foundation for its generosity.

 

Photo caption: Raoul Hague (American, 1904-93), Little Beaverkill Walnut, 1959, 55 1/4 x 34 1/4 x 24 1/4 in. 75th Anniversary Acquisition. Gift of the Raoul Hague Foundation, 2010.31.