Rago Auctions

David Ellsworth, master woodturner, describes his primary influences as “the energy and beauty of Native American ceramics, the architecture of the American Southwest with its textures, tones and monumentality, and the natural beauty of the material of wood – what I refer to as the most perfectly imperfect material to work with.” He is considered one of the most prominent woodturners in the world, famous for developing his elegant thin-walled hollow forms, which may even be as thin as 1/16th of an inch. Additionally, he created and marketed the bent turning tools needed to produce this vessel-like form. Ellsworth is also known for advancing the discipline of woodturning as a legitimate craft art form. The work of David Ellsworth is included in the permanent collection of over forty-three museums internationally, including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. 

ellsworthstudios.com

Born and raised in Toronto, Dr. Irving Lipton (1923 - 2001) built what was, for a while, the largest contemporary wood collection in the world. He and his wife, Mari, settled in California in the 1950s but his passion for wood art did not start until 1972 when, at the Westwood Art Fair, he acquired a thirty-five-dollar jewelry box from Michael Graham. Some months later, he encountered Graham again, and heard of his idea for a much fancier jewelry box, one the artist couldn’t afford to build. Lipton committed to buying the piece on the spot, allowing the artist to get started on the project. The resulting box was exhibited at several museums and galleries before Dr. Lipton received it, sparking in him an excitement for collecting that would only grow.

Dr. Lipton...became a true patron of the arts, explaining “I see a remarkable comparison with my profession as a pediatrician in stimulating the growth and development of contemporary wood art.”

Dr. Lipton developed into more than just a collector, he became a true patron of the arts, explaining “I see a remarkable comparison with my profession as a pediatrician in stimulating the growth and development of contemporary wood art.” He nurtured close, personal relationships with the artists whose pieces he collected, and he delighted in seeing the evolution of their work over time. Dr. Lipton’s primary criteria for acquisitions revolved around the artist’s vision and their ideas; he had a profound appreciation for, and curiosity about, each work and their creator, reflecting that his “horizons of thought and concept have been broadened, and collecting has helped me to be a more sensitive and mature individual.” He even postponed his retirement from medicine to continue supporting artists and adding to his collection. 

Dr. Lipton also recognized the importance of sharing these fine creations with the world. 

Dr. Lipton also recognized the importance of sharing these fine creations with the world. Much of his collection was exhibited internationally, and he would go on to donate pieces to a number of organizations and institutions, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Yale University Art Gallery. As a result of his personal connections with artists and his approach to acquiring pieces over the course of their careers, his collection became a fascinating repository which documented the evolution of individual artists as well as of the field of woodworking as a whole. 

Bibliography

Wallace, Kevin. The Cutting Edge: The Lipton Collection and Contemporary Wood Art. Antioch, CA: Fine Arts Press, 2011.