Still pursuing his artistry after 65 years, George R. Anthonisen is the subject of a retrospective at the James A. Michener Art Museum.
“Meditations on the Human Condition” features more than 40 figurative sculptures (primarily in bronze), as well as maquettes and frescoes, displayed in the museum’s galleries and garden. Through his art, Anthonisen investigates universal themes related to people’s capacity to destroy, create, question, and make noble choices; he is also admired for his evocations of the female form’s elegance and strength.
Born in Boston in 1936, he spent his youth in Vermont, where he was tutored by Elizabeth Clark Gunther, a landscape architect whose husband was the architect and painter John F. Gunther.
In 1955, while stationed in Europe with the U.S. Army, Anthonisen first visited the Louvre, where he was impressed by such iconic sculptures as the “Nike of Samothrace,” “Venus de Milo,” and Michelangelo’s “Two Slaves.”
He later studied art at the University of Vermont, then in New York City at the National Academy of Design and Art Students League. In 1967 Anthonisen enrolled at Dartmouth College’s medical school so that he could study human anatomy, and since 1971 he has lived in Bucks County near Doylestown.
Exhibition Details at a Glance:
George R. Anthonisen
James A. Michener Art Museum
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
michenerartmuseum.org
Through October 13, 2024
