Back in the heyday of art porcelain collecting, most purchasers belonged to one or more of three general categories: (a) They bought whatever sculptures they liked, budget permitting; (b) they focused mainly on certain genres, which the Cybis studio termed ‘Collections’ – more about those in a future post; and/or (c) they made their purchase [...]
Helen Granger Young was one of several freelance sculptors who designed for the Cybis studio during the 1970s. Unlike most of their other designers, Ms. Young’s work for them was limited to a single genre: portraits of Native Americans. She was born in Mimico, Ontario, Canada in either 1922 or 1923, depending on which source [...]
Never let it be said that Cybis vs. Boehm was the only cross-town porcelain rivalry in Trenton: Before that, there was Cordey vs. Chantilly! There were actually two Cordey lookalike/wannabe companies operating during the 1940s and 1950s, but Chantilly was the one who shared Cordey’s turf. Chantilly’s legal history has been frustratingly hard to trace, [...]
Having previously looked at the pairs, companions, and sets that the Cybis porcelain studio produced, it’s also interesting to see what I call their ‘two-fer’ and ‘trio’ pieces. These are sculptures that have more than one subject, both (or all) being of equal design weight/importance. There was also one sculpture that was composed of four [...]
An interesting characteristic of quite a few Cybis porcelains, especially those that were introduced during the 1950s and 1960s, was the option to purchase them either as white bisque or ‘color’, meaning hand-painted bisque. Before taking a look at how the white versions compared to their decorated counterparts, I should explain that “white bisque” means [...]
Sometimes you will see a piece of Cybis porcelain with the letters AP or A.P. near the Cybis signature; those initials stand for ‘artist’s proof.’ This term has long been used in the printmaking industry. It originally meant the first (proofing) run of an edition of prints, which the artist/painter would review and make any changes [...]
The 1964 World’s Fair, held at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens County, NY, coincided with the first several years of the ‘golden age’ of the Cybis porcelain studio. It was also the first large-scale opportunity for Cybis to be seen by many people who would have otherwise been unaware of the studio’s existence. The Fair [...]
All examples of nudes and semi-nudes by Boleslaw Cybis that have been found to date have been from the 1920s. With one exception, all of the photographs below are from auction listings at DESA Unicum in Warsaw, in their 2020 and/or 2021 sales. Most of the titles below are descriptions only. Dimensions refer to the [...]
The Cybis archive 