Bali in the 1930s: Bali Through a Sculptor’s Eyes. Photographs and Sculptures by Arthur Fleischmann

SCARCE and MAGNIFICENT very large item! [will incur additional postage cost]. 248 p. : chiefly ill. (some col.) ; 35 cm. #0321 (Small scrape and chip to bottom d/w corner.) [Note: Oversized book, which will incur additional postage and insurance charges if ordered through Abebooks.]Fleischmann, Arthur, 1896-1990. | Bali (Indonesia : Province) — In art. | Bali (Indonesia : Province) — Pictorial works. | Bali (Indonesia : Province) — Social life and customs — Pictorial works.Fleischmann was born in 1896 in Pressburg, Austria-Hungary (now Bratislava, Slovakia). He studied medicine in Budapest and Prague, before turning to sculpture, and winning a scholarship to the Master School of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.He left Europe in 1937, travelling to South Africa and Zanzibar before spending two years in Bali, where he converted from his native Judaism to Catholicism, with the encouragement of a Dutch colonial missionary, Father Buys. The forms of traditional Balinese dancers became a lifelong influence on Fleischmann’s work.Fleeing the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, Fleischmann moved to Australia in 1939, where he became the centre of the Merioola Group, named after his home in Rosemont Avenue, Woollahra. He was elected a member of the Society of Artists in Sydney, sculpting portraits of prominent Australians including Cardinal Gilroy, Governor-General Lord Gowrie, Sir Frederick Jordan, Sir John Butters, Sir Percy Spender, the pianist Gaultiero Volterra and violinist Jeanne Gautier.His two best-known works from this period are the 1946 wishing tree memorial I wish for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney; and the Bronze Doors on the Mitchell Wing of the State Library of New South Wales, given by Sir William Dixson in honour of David Scott Mitchell.(Please note: Over standard weight. Orders may incur additional postage charges. We will contact you prior to processing order to request your approval or contact us to confirm postage cost.)