Doris Caesar
Kneeling Woman, 1968
Cast bronze
Gift of Harry Caesar
What did it mean to be a woman born in the 19th century…and also an artist? For Doris Caesar, it meant a hiatus in the development of her career. Although she showed early promise in the arts, taking classes at the respected Art Students League from the ages of sixteen to twenty, her artistic goals were put on hold for almost a decade after her marriage to Harry Caesar. She gave birth to three children and cared for her husband through health problems that would last the duration of their marriage.
In the 1920s, Caesar resumed her education, studying with renowned Cubist sculptor Alexander Archipenko, then striking out to get exhibitions for herself, while still juggling all the duties and responsibilities of wife- and motherhood. Perhaps her adeptness at mastering challenges inspired her love of sculpture—she stated that she chose sculpture “because it's big and fights against you all the time.”