Peter Ganine

Peter Ganine
Born
Pierre Ganine

(1900-10-11)October 11, 1900[1][2]
Tiflis, Russia[1]
DiedAugust 11, 1974(1974-08-11) (aged 73)
Hollywood, California, U.S.[3]
NationalityRussian-American
Alma materCorcoran Gallery of Art
Spouse(s)Marguerite Churchill (1954–?)
Karin (?–1974)[3]
Signature

Peter Ganine (October 11, 1900 – August 11, 1974) was a Georgian-Russian-American sculptor best known for his work in ceramics and his chess sets.

Ganine began his art studies in Russia. He spent five years as a trader in the Belgian Congo[4] before coming to the US in 1931,[5] on a scholarship to Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.[3] He settled in Hollywood in 1932, where he lived until his death.[1][4][6] His work was championed by longtime Los Angeles Times art editor and critic Arthur Millier.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

He served as an aircraft patternmaker during World War II.[4]

The subjects of Ganine's sculptures were largely people or animals.[3][13][14][15][16] He patented many of his animal sculptures, which were then reproduced in plastic and sold inexpensively.[3][4][13] His most popular designs were a whale, which won a prize from the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art,[4][14] and an "uncapsizeable duck", of which over 50,000,000 were sold.[3][15] When Ganine gave human faces to chess pieces, he introduced "first major change of design for chess sets in more than a century."[17]

  1. ^ a b c "Peter Ganine – Artist, Fine Art, Auction Records, Prices, Biography for Peter Ganine". AskART. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Peter Ganine Biography, Works of Art, Auction Results". Invaluable. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Peter Ganine; L.A. Sculptor". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. 13 August 1974. p. A16.
  4. ^ a b c d e Sherman, Gene (22 May 1957). "Cityside with Gene Sherman". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. 2.
  5. ^ Perry, Barbara (15 May 1989). American Ceramics: The Collection of Everson Museum of Art. Rizzoli. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-8478-1025-3.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference bs1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference southland was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference artthisweek was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference millier1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference millier2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference millier3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference millier4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ a b "Deaths Elsewhere". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, Illinois. 14 August 1974. p. C16.
  14. ^ a b US patent 153426, Peter Ganine, "Floating toy", published 19 April 1949 
  15. ^ a b US patent 153514, Peter Ganine, "Design for a toy duck", published 26 April 1949 
  16. ^ Ganine's various patents consistently show the figures of animals in the designs:
    • US patent 155702, Peter Ganine, "Design for a toy animal figure", published 25 October 1949 
    • US patent 158738, Peter Ganine, "Toy animal figure", published 30 May 1950 
    • US patent 158737, Peter Ganine, "Toy animal figure", published 30 May 1950 
    • US patent 159795, Peter Ganine, "Animal figure", published 22 August 1950 
    • US patent 159796, Peter Ganine, "Animal figure", published 22 August 1950 
    • US patent 185494, Peter Ganine, "Bracket for a bathroom fixture", published 16 June 1959 
    • US patent 3064365, Peter Ganine, "Modeling device", published 20 November 1962 
  17. ^ Hoadley, Raymond (15 September 1957). "The Week in Business". New York Herald Tribune. New York, New York. p. A5.