The New York Times August 1, 2009, Tony Rosenthal Obituary by William Grimes is a loving tribute to this Important Sculptor, who was also my good friend whom I will dearly miss.
According to the The New York Times, "In sheer visibility, Mr. Rosenthal occupied a leading place among contemporary artists."
Named a Public Art Legend by Professor Sam Hunter, Rosenthal's "five works of public sculpture in Manhattan, and dozens of similar works in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and other cities, guaranteed him a vast audience every week, yet he remained, if not obscure, much less than famous."
Instantly recognizable and seen by millions every year, Tony Rosenthal public art sculptures are better known by their shape and landmark appearance. Rosenthal enjoyed both the process of creating art as well as the pleasure it gave others, particularly since so much of Rosenthal's art is situated in public places.
“He reminds me of a character actor,” said Joseph K. Levene, President, Joseph K. Levene Fine Art, Ltd. told the New York Times. “You know the face but not the name. With him, you know the art.”
Rosenthal dedicated his life to Art. As a child, the Artist reluctantly continued to take Saturday Art classes at the insistence of his mother, an opera singer.
Mr. Rosenthal never stopped creating sculpture; Tony was always creating Art or thinking about Art. Rosenthal created Art with discipline. That meant going to his Studio every day, even weekends.
Tony enjoyed the process of making Art and the pleasure it gave others, particularly since much of Rosenthal's Art is situated in Public Places, and encourages interaction. The Art Inventories Catalog from the Smithsonian Institution Research System (SIRIS) confirms documentation of 71 Tony Rosenthal Sculptures as of August 1, 2009.
He said, "I spent my whole life as an Artist", and continued to work every day with the vitality of a man several decades younger, right up until his death. A day was hardly complete if Rosenthal didn't go to his Studio, always exploring new paths and new ideas.
According to the New York Times, "He was best known for “Alamo,” familiarly called “The Cube” and a neighborhood favorite since it was installed in 1967 as part of the city’s “Sculpture in Environment” program from the Public Art Fund.
Rosenthal's Alamo Sculpture is so famous, Tyler and James, Season 10 contestants, on The Amazing Race won $1 million dollars by solving the visual clue of the Sculpture's location.
In 2005, Alamo, 1967, vanished from its location on Astor Place while it was refurbished. A ceremony to unveil the landmark sculpture was held and Tony was there to welcome it back along with Adrian Benepe, New York City Parks Commissioner, whose Agency is in charge of the sculpture's upkeep; Iris Weinshall, New York Transportation Commissioner, whose Agency paid for the restoration.
Tony Rosenthal, was happy to see it refurbished. "It's a very friendly object," he said. "There's a lot of love for it in the neighborhood."
In a Video Interview about the Cube, Rosenthal proudly observed "you know, it holds its own". Tony recalled that he had made several Cube Sculptures in Balsa Wood, and because Doris Freedman, Alamo became the first of five Tony Rosenthal Public Art Sculptures on permanent display in New York.
During his rich seven decade career, Tony Rosenthal created an extraordinary body of Sculpture, in a variety of mediums, including Wood, Aluminum, Cor-Ten Steel, Brass, Bronze.
In 1999 Rizzoli published the Monograph Tony Rosenthal, by Sam Hunter with a Forward by three-time Pulitzer Prize Playwright, Edward Albee.
Mr. Albee observed "Tony works in all sizes. His monumental outdoor pieces, set in landscapes or in busy city spaces, seem always to have been there. His more intimate wall sculptures and standing forms have a monumentally no matter their actual size."
"Like all the important metal workers - like Stankiewicz, like Caro, like Serra, like Chamberlain - Rosenthal's objects instruct us, alter our perceptions, disturb and thrill us by their audacity, their wonder and their inevitability."
The 1960's were a significant turning point for Rosenthal; Sam Kootz, Rosenthal's Art Dealer, who also represented Pablo Picasso, convinced Tony to solely create Abstract Geometric Sculptures which won Rosenthal even wider acclaim than the Figurative Sculptures he had created in prior decades. Mr. Kootz also encouraged Rosenthal to use his use his nickname, "Tony", and since 1960, he was professionally known and credited as Tony Rosenthal.
Mr. Rosenthal exhibited all over the world. In addition to Kootz Gallery, NY, Rosenthal was represented by art gallery powerhouses, including: Knoedler & Company, New York, André Emmerich Gallery, New York, Maxwell Davidson Gallery, New York and Denise Rene, Paris.
A hard-working and prolific Artist into his 90s, one honor eluded him. “He never had a Retrospective, but that’s all right,” Mr. Levene said. “He has one every day on the streets of New York.
Tony Rosenthal Art is included in many Museum Collections, including:
- Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
- The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk Virginia
- Department of Parks and Recreation, New York
- Fashion Institute of Technology
- Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton, New York
- Israel Museum, Jerusalem
- The Museum of Modern Art, New York
- National Museum of American Art: Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. (Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection)
- The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut
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