Richard Lippold

Lippold, Richard (1915– ). American abstract sculptor, born in Milwaukee. The son of an engineer, he graduated in industrial design from the school of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1937. For several years after this he worked in industry and taught design. In 1942 he made his first sculptures—constructions of wire and scrap metal. From these he developed the ‘space cages’ for which he has become famous—elegant hanging constructions that give the effect of a gossamer-like network of wires suspended in space. He sometimes increases the impression of weightlessness by exhibiting them in semi-darkness against a black background. Lippold settled in New York in 1944 and had his first one-man exhibition at the Willard Gallery there in 1947. Since then he has won much acclaim and has had many public commissions, often on a large scale. Indeed, his Orpheus and Apollo (1962) in the Philharmonic Hall in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, was said at the time of its installation to be the largest piece of sculpture created in the 20th century.

Richard Lippold , 1915-2002, American sculptor, engineer, and designer, b. Milwaukee. Until 1941, Lippold worked as an industrial designer. As a sculptor, he achieved startling effects in intricately arranged, precisely engineered constructions of suspended wire and sheet metal. Often large and always lyrical, his work explores abstract spatial relationships and includes the play of light as an integral part of the sculptures. Lippold held teaching positions in various schools and colleges and was on the faculty of Hunter College, New York City (1952-67). Among his major works are Aerial Act (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford); Sun (Metropolitan Mus.), which contains more than 2 mi (3.2 km) of gold wire; Orpheus and Apollo (1961; Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center, New York City); and Ad Astra (1976; National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian).

Bibliography: See catalog of exhibition in Willard Gallery, New York City (1962).