Stella Waitzkin

About Stella Waitzkin (1920-2003)

In 2021, the Kohler Foundation contributed pieces from Details of a Lost Library to George Mason University.

---

Early Life and Rebellion

Stella Waitzkin (1920–2003) was born in New York City to Austrian immigrant parents. Raised in affluence, her father's success in the lighting fixture business provided her with a privileged upbringing. Despite this, Stella rebelled against the conventional values of her parents, rejecting religious and social norms. Initially attending Alfred College, she found her true calling in acting, studying method acting with Bill Hickey. In 1942, while working at her father's company, Globe Lighting, Stella met and married Abe Waitzkin, a successful lighting salesman. They had two sons, Fred and Billy, and lived in Cambridge, Mass., and later in Great Neck, Long Island.

Bohemian Living and Artistic Exploration

Stella's artistic journey began in the 1950s when she studied painting with Hans Hofmann and life drawing with Willem de Kooning. Immersed in the bohemian scene of Greenwich Village, she created abstract expressionistic canvases and mingled with beat poets and jazz musicians. In 1959, rejecting suburban life, Stella moved to Riverdale and later to 27 West 9th Street, close to the Cedar Bar in Greenwich Village. A decade later, she settled in the Hotel Chelsea, where she delved into expressing social justice themes through sculpture, performance, and films. Her apartment, Room 403, became an artistic haven, hosting poets and painters. Stella's unique environment, filled with sculptures like "Details of a Lost Library" and the "Wreck of the UPS," reflected her abstract paintings.

Passionate and committed to her art, Stella worked tirelessly on sculptures, paintings, and drawings. Her Chelsea Hotel apartment and her house on Martha's Vineyard overflowed with her creations. In her later years, she frequented the Chilmark flea market, buying and selling objects for her sculptures.

untitled, n.d.
polyester resin, wood, and stone, 9" x 26" x 6.5"

untitled, n.d.
polyester resin and stone, 7" x 8.5" x 6.25"

untitled, n.d.
polyester resin, 7" x 5" x 2.5"

untitled (College Standard Dictionary), Date unknown (late 20th century)
polyester resin, 9.5' x 6.5" x 0.5"

Books as Freedom

Posthumously, Stella's work gained recognition in the art world more open to women artists. She was part of a 1970s movement treating modern books as art, and her unique approach to crafting books symbolizing freedom garnered attention. Stella's later focus on casting old, leather-bound volumes resulted in magnificent, translucent, and luminous sculptures. Her works have been exhibited globally and reside in prestigious collections, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian.

Untitled (Small Bird on Book with Rock)
Date unknown (late 20th century)
6.5" x 9.5" x 5.5"
Polyester resin and stone

Stella Waitzkin's legacy extends beyond her artwork. After her death in 2003, a section of her Chelsea Hotel environment found a home at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, and her recreated living room is now part of its collection. Her artistic contributions, from abstract expressionism to her exploration of books as art, continue to captivate audiences and contribute to the evolving narrative of women in the art world.

Researched by Soo Paek and Sophie Bae/ Mason Exhibitions