Martin Isler

Martin Isler (American, 1926-2013).

White marble quarried from Vermont.

Described by the artist as a character from his favorite ballet, Swan Lake.

The marble sculptures of Martin Isler are byproducts of an artist's passion for art and archaeology. Martin studied painting in the mid-1960s at the Art Student League, at a time in which the artistic climate favored abstract painting over classical sculpting. He eventually succumbed to his lifelong desire to sculpt in stone and spent the next 50 years creating and learning. He learned the basics of carving from the written records of Italian Renaissance figure Giorgio Vasari, who outlined the technique used by Michelangelo.

The art of stone carving required the artist to maneuver exceptionally heavy blocks of stone himself, sparking in him a curiosity on how the Egyptians were able to construct pyramids. Having successfully moved a number of very large blocks using levers, pulleys, rollers and wedges, Martin eventually came to wonder how the ancient people accomplished their great feats of building with stone. Curiosity turned into obsession and Martin spent the next 25 years on travel, research and fieldwork, including a deep dive into the basement depositories of the British Museum.

In Odette, Martin carves the portrait bust of a character from his favorite ballet, Swan Lake. The textured nature of this stone contrasts against the smooth, polished finishes the artist employed. Carved in 2009 before the artist's passing in 2013, the work represents a culmination of the artist's craft and perfection. Martin's work has been displayed in numerous exhibitions and is held in a number of prestigious private collections throughout the U.S. His years of research on Ancient Egypt manifests in his 2001 publication, Sticks, Stones and Shadows, Building the Egyptian Pyramids.

Etched Isler '09

Martin Isler

By descent to the present owner

North Salem, NY, Martin Isler, Exhibition of Sculpture, 1965-2012, October 21, 2012

National Sculpture Society, New York, NY, 41st Annual Exhibition 1974

National Sculpture Society, New York, Bicentennial Exhibition, 1976

Wilton Gallery, Wilton CT, 1977

Munson Gallery, New Haven, CT 1980

Hudson Valley Art Association, 77th Annual Exhibition 2008

National Sculpture Society, New York City, 75th Annual Exhibition 2008

Brookgreen Gardens, Pawley's Island, SC

National Sculpture Society, New York City, Elected Members Invitational (2008

Upstream People Gallery, 11th Annual Juried Realism 2008

Upstream People Gallery, 12th Annual Juried Realism 2008

The Bendheim Gallery

Art Society of Old Greenwich CT (2010), First Prize

North Salem,

Monographs published in the Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt:

1976, Vol. 13- "Ancient Egyptian Methods of Raising Weights," frontispiece, pp. 31-41, pl. 2,3

1983, Vol. 20- "Concerning the Concave Faces on the Great Pyramid," pp, 27-32

1985, Vol. 22- "On Pyramid Building," pp. 129-142

1987, Vol. 24- On Pyramid Building 2, pp 95-112

1989, Vol. 26- An Ancient Method of Finding and Extending Direction, pp. 191-206

1991, Vol. 28- The Gnomon in Egyptian Antiquity, pp. 155-185

1987, Vol. 73- The Curious Luxor Obelisk, pp. 137-147. The Journal of Egyptian Antiquity

1991, Vol. 7- The Merkhet, pp. 53-67, Varia Aegyptianca

1992, Vol. 48- The Technique of Monolithic Carving, pp. 45-55 Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo