SAMUEL YELLIN | CANDLESTICK

Personal collection of the artist

Samuel Yellin, Metalworker, organized by the Philadelphia College of Art Alumni Association and circulated by the Gallery Association of New York State, Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY, January 20-February 19, 1984; Oglebay Institute Mansion Museum, Wheeling, WV, April 6-June 1, 1984; The Hyde Collection, Glens Fails, NY, July 19-September 2, 1984; Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI, September 20-October 21, 1984; Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY, November 9-December 1984

Two Important Candlesticks from the Collection of Samuel Yellin Metalworkers

From the time of his immigration to America from Ukraine around 1905 through the first years in his legendary Philadelphia atelier, Samuel Yellin used small tabletop forms such as candlesticks to explore the boundaries of his skills as a designer and craftsman. Whether reinterpreting historical forms or boldly composing new structures and ornamentation these works show Yellin at his most creative. 

Because candlesticks were often created for ecclesiastical settings and remain in the churches for which they were made and few residential or corporate clients ever commissioned such works, they are very rare in today’s market. During his lifetime, Yellin retained a small set of exceptional examples, two of which are offered here to the public for the first time (lots 45 and 46). These two examples were retained for 100 years in the collection of Samuel Yellin Metalworkers but nearly no candlesticks now remain with the descendants of the ironworker.

Though some candlesticks Yellin retained for his personal collection at his offices were reproduced from particularly successful examples made for clients the examples offered here are designs known only to have been made for specific use by their maker. Yellin utilized works such as these regularly within the firm in order to allow clients to see structures and decoration that might be used or varied in commissions. The candlesticks present a fascinating microcosm of the genius of America’s great ironworker, wherein one can see complex ideas and novel embellishments skillfully synthesized within pleasing designs.

This work is unusually large among the candlesticks Yellin made for his personal use. It derives some characteristics from historic European precedent but exhibits a bold modernism typical of Yellin’s best work. The massive perfectly twisted shaft brilliantly mimics twisted cord. The hand forged decorative collars are notable feats of artisan craft beautifully fitted to the form. The work was dear enough to Samuel Yellin that he commissioned photographs of it when it was made, which images are retained in the Samuel Yellin Metalworkers Archives. (figs. 1, 2) Yellin frequently moved table top items around his offices at the Arch Street Forge, but in 1973 this candlestick was photographed prominently displayed on his own refectory table in “Mr. Yellin’s Room.”  Just two examples of this form were ever made and the only other extant model of this important form is in the collection of Leeds Art Foundation, Philadelphia. The form will be illustrated in the forthcoming Metalwork of Samuel Yellin, Volume I, Chapter 3, which publication is expected in 2021.