Cybis Porcelains ‘Before and After’

Cybis Porcelains ‘Before and After’

I recently added a post to my personal blog site, describing the process by which art porcelain sculptures are created. The transformation from the artist's initial clay model to the finished retail product was something that collectors rarely had a chance to see and appreciate. Shown below are "before and after" photos of a baker's [...]

Born In the USA: Cybis Patriotic Sculptures

Born In the USA: Cybis Patriotic Sculptures

As befits America’s oldest* porcelain art studio, Cybis produced no less than 17 sculptures that celebrated the history and patriotism of the United States. Some were portraits, some were representations of our national bird, and some were giftware items. They appear below in order of retail introduction within each of those categories. Portraits   The [...]

The Cybis Child Sculptures (‘Children to Cherish’)

The Cybis Child Sculptures (‘Children to Cherish’)

In addition to their various child/baby busts, nursery rhyme and fairytale characters, the Cybis studio produced many sculptures within their general category called “Children to Cherish.” They were all non-limited editions. The pieces from the 1950s and 1960s predated this category concept which was introduced the following decade. On the 1963 price list, the only [...]

The Rest of the Cybis Menagerie

The Rest of the Cybis Menagerie

After sorting through all of the various Cybis porcelain animals by genre (cats, dogs, bulls and bears, horses, woodlanders, denizens of the deep, carousel creatures, et al.) there were still a few that refused to fit into a category….and so here they are. One of the most impressive Cybis sculptures was the Dall Sheep. A [...]

Angels by Cybis Porcelain

Angels by Cybis Porcelain

Angels and cherubs emerged from the Cybis studio ever since its earliest days in 1940s New York where Boleslaw and Marja Cybis created their “papka” frescoes and sculptures. The angels below are listed chronologically. None of them were limited editions. An intriguing group of six angels produced between 1940 and 1942 in “papka” composition was [...]

A Cybis Concert: Music and Opera Porcelain Sculptures

A Cybis Concert: Music and Opera Porcelain Sculptures

Euterpe, the Greek muse of song and music, certainly inspired the artists of Cybis at various times during the past decades (her compatriot Terpsichore is reflected in their ballet sculptures.) Their first two such studies both appeared in 1967 but reflect very different musical genres. This evocative study of Arturo Toscanini’s hands was originally titled [...]

The Cybis North American Indians Collection

The Cybis North American Indians Collection

One of the most notable achievements of the Cybis Studio during its almost 75-year existence was their North American Indians collection. Inaugurated as a limited series beginning in 1969, their finely detailed representations of the major Native American tribes have been widely appreciated by collectors. Boleslaw Cybis was fascinated by the native peoples of his [...]

Mythology as Interpreted by Cybis

Mythology as Interpreted by Cybis

Continuing the review of Cybis’ literature-based portraits naturally leads to their interpretations of characters from Greek, Roman and Chinese mythology. All but two were limited editions. Considering the wealth of subjects from which to choose, it seems a bit surprising that relatively few designs were created in this genre. The actual appearance of the first [...]