American Structural Sculptor
“A sculpture answers one question and then asks the next question.”
Robert M. Engman (1927-2018) was an American sculptor who worked mainly with metal and whose creations show an exploration of minimal surfaces to generate sculptural forms, often treated to lens-like polished finishes. A student of Josef Albers and José de Rivera at Yale University, Engman developed his signature style of structural sculpture in 1955, and was a frequent figure in the New York City art gallery scene in the 1960s and 70s. He founded the sculpture department at the University of Pennsylvania and remained there as a teacher until his retirement in 1992. Engman’s most famous pieces include Triune (1974), which to this day stands at the southwest corner of City Hall Plaza in downtown Philadelphia, and his sculpture honoring famed Indian yoga teacher and friend B.K.S Iyengar, After Iyengar (1978), which can be seen at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania.
Public Works:
Column (1963) - Art and Architecture Building, Yale University, CT
The Loop (1972) - Joseph & Ceil Mazer Park, Jerusalem, Israel
The Snowplow (1973) - Cherryvale Mall, Rockford, IL
Triune (1974) - City Hall Plaza, Philadelphia, PA
Kings (1975) - 78th and Lindbergh, Philadelphia, PA
Quadrature #1 (1977) - T. G. Miller Plaza, Philadelphia, PA
Quadrature (1985) - Truist Place, Richmond, VA
Collections:
Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) - New York, NY
Whitney Museum of American Art - New York, NY
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution - Washington, DC
James A. Michener Art Museum - Doylestown, PA
University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, PA
Morris Arboretum and Gardens - Philadelphia, PA
Frances M. Maguire Art Museum, St. Joseph’s University - Merion, PA
List Visual Arts Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, MA
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University - Waltham, MA
Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, MA
Longue Vue House and Gardens - New Orleans, LA
School of Art and Architecture, Yale University - New Haven, Connecticut
Yale University Art Gallery - New Haven, Connecticut
College of William and Mary - Williamsburg, VA
