Decorative Iron Grill
Designerdesigned by
Samuel Yellin
(American, 1885 - 1940)
Collections
ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS
Dateca. early 1930s
Mediumiron
Dimensionsoverall: 25 x 16 x 4 1/2 in. (63.5 x 40.6 x 11.4 cm.)
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gift of American Decorative Art 1900 Foundation in honor of Ellen and Harvey Knell
Label TextBorn and trained in Poland, Samuel Yellin became America's most important ironworker within a decade of his arrival in Philadelphia, around 1905. He worked with many of the most prominent architects of the day and a wide variety of clients, including wealthy businesspeople, public leaders and tastemakers, as well as banks, universities and churches. A quintessential master craftsman, he was called upon to create lavish, artistic constructions in iron. His work in this challenging medium brings together traditions of European metalwork with innovative and distinctive techniques. Yellin was also a gifted designer, who combined creativity with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical precedents. His nearby commissions included work for the residences of Colonel John Hudson Poole and John L. Severance in Pasadena.The Huntington has two important pieces by Samuel Yellin in its collection. This Decorative Iron Grille, with its gently curving tendrils and leaves, delicate rosettes, and vertical rods terminating in dragon's-head finials and feet, is a fine example of the work Yellin intended for architectural applications. The Inkwell seen in the adjacent case, from Yellin's personal collection, combines a solid yet graceful shape with a whimsical rendering of an encounter between two animals.
Status
On viewObject number2008.16
