Fallingwater's sculpture by famed African-American Richmond Barthe

Between Liliane Kaufmann's taste and Edgar Kaufmann, jr.'s curatorial eye, the art at Fallingwater works very well to show off Fallingwater at its best. During the years they lived at Fallingwater, the family would place different artwork in the house that reflected their current interests. Fallingwater's collection now contains 25 sculptures, encompassing works by Jacques Lipchitz, Jean Arp, Brian Hunt, Peter Voulkos, and arguably the first important modern African-American sculptor, Richmond Barthe. Shown here is a Barthe sculpture located underneath Fallingwater's stepped canopy.

This elongated, stylized sculpture of Rose McClendon shows her wearing a simple long dress. Her hands are clasped and her eyes are closed, as if she is singing. McClendon is one of many theatrical celebrity portraits the prolific Barthe carried out. Also of African-American descent, McClendon (1884-1936) was one of the most famous black actresses in the United States between 1920-1935. She starred in many New York productions including "Porgy" (1927), "Never No More" (1932), and "Mulatto" (1935). The solemn prayerful attitude of McClendon seems to have derived from Barthe's interest in capturing the spirituality of his subjects.

Barthe's early life was spent in Mississippi and Louisiana. When he was 22, he traveled to Chicago where he began formal training at the School of the Art Institute. Under the influence of Archibald J. Motley, Jr. and Charles Schroeder, Barthe decided that his talents were best suited for sculpture.

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