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 [...]
A number of original paintings have come to light after I wrote my Paintings, Part One post, so it makes sense to review these new finds here. All of them appeared as auction lot offerings at DESA Unicum, Warsaw, in 2020 and/or 2021; the photographs, titles and dimensions cited are from those listings. Some items [...]
Far fewer circa-1940s drawings by Boleslaw Cybis have been found, no doubt because he was busily engaged in settling into his new life in America. Only one item shown below is actually dated as that decade, although several have been attributed (by outside sources) to that timeframe. This pastel-on-paper drawing of a long-haired woman was [...]
The Cybis archive 