Chaim Gross (1902–1991)
526 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY 10012
212-529-4906
ABOUT
The Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation preserves and interprets the historic home, studio, and art collections of renowned American sculptor Chaim Gross and his wife Renee. The Grosses purchased the Foundation’s Greenwich Village building in 1962, renovating the industrial space into a Modernist home with a ground floor sculpture studio. In addition to being a prolific artist, Gross was also a collector, educator, and designer. Gross worked with two architects, Arthur Malsin and Don Reiman, on the 1962-63 renovations of the LaGuardia Place building. Gross collected African, American, European, Oceanic, Pre-Columbian, and decorative arts which are displayed in the living spaces as they were installed when the Grosses were in residence.
SPECIAL RESOURCES
“Art gives me happiness, and when I’m not working I’m miserable.”
— Chaim Gross
Chaim Gross (1902–1991)
Chaim Gross was born in 1902 in Galicia, at the time part of Austria-Hungary, now Ukraine. He came from a Jewish family and was uprooted by the violence of World War I. He studied drawing and painting in Budapest and Vienna before immigrating to the United States in 1921. Upon arrival in New York City, he studied at the Educational Alliance Art School. He studied sculpture with Elie Nadelman at the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design and Robert Laurent at the Art Students League in the early and mid-1920s. He had his first solo exhibition of direct carvings in 1932. He is known for his sculptures of acrobats, dancers, and mothers with children, carved in tropical hardwoods.
Renee Gross (1909–2005)
Renee Gross (née Nechin) was born in Lithuania in 1909. She immigrated with her family to the United States in 1921. She attended Erasmus High School in Brooklyn and then Brooklyn College to study literature. She was involved with the Second Avenue Jewish Bohemian art scene, where she befriended actors, artists, and writers. She married Chaim Gross in 1932, and they had two children, Yehudah and Mimi. Renee Gross was politically active throughout her life. Although she was not an artist herself, Renee was a great supporter of the arts, artists, and local non-profits. She regularly contributed art by Chaim Gross to benefit auctions. After the passing of her husband in May 1991, Renee worked to open the Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation’s doors to the public. In 1994 she opened with a memorial exhibition of Chaim Gross‘s work at the Foundation and at Forum Gallery.
Right: Studio, the Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation. Credit © Elizabeth Felicella, 2018.
LEARN MORE
The Renee & Chaim Gross Foundation provides a window into the life of a twentieth-century artist living in New York. The space and art collections demonstrate Chaim Gross’s network of friendships and influences. The studio was the site for his creative output and features Gross’s materials, tools, and works in progress.
Renee and Chaim Gross purchased 526 LaGuardia Place in 1962 after living and raising their two children (engineer Yehudah and artist Mimi) on the Upper West Side. Prior to their decision to unite living and work spaces, Gross had various studios downtown since 1927.
The four-story brick building on LaGuardia Place was originally built in 1873 and designed by Joseph M. Dunn as a storefront with lofts above. The building spent decades as an industrial space prior to when the Grosses purchased it. They retained the original Neo-Grec cast-iron features on the façade, but chose to renovate the interiors in a Modernist style. Architects Arthur Malsin and Don Reiman worked on the project, but Gross was heavily involved in decision making during the process of design and construction.
Gross worked in the dramatically lit sculpture studio on the ground floor from 1963 until his death in 1991. The adjacent gallery continues to display finished works by Gross as it did when he used the space. Included are drawings as well as sculptures in wood, stone, and bronze. The second floor was rented out prior to 1991 and now serves as an intimate temporary exhibition space for exploring aspects of Gross’s work and collection. The stairwell and third floor are installed with the couple’s extensive collection which includes 12,000 objects of African, American, European, Pre-Columbian, and decorative arts. Gross installed these works in a Salon-style hang that has been deliberately retained by the Foundation to evoke Gross’s aesthetics as well as his network of artist friends. Studio visitors can also see his work The Family near by on Bleecker Street.
