Description

Description: We offer a life-size bronze bust by Julie Yates of the pop psychologist Dr. Louis E. Bisch. The bronze is 12 ¾” high, 6” wide and 8 ¾” deep on a well-proportioned polished stone plinth that is 5 ½” high, and 5 ¼” wide and deep. The bronze is signed along the back of the neck “Portrait Study of Louis E. Bish MD. PH.D. Julie Yates. SC C 1928.” “Bish” appears to be an infrequently used, alternate and incorrect spelling of his name, but it does appear in some libraries. A photographic portrait of Bisch confirms both the identity of the bust and the adept skill of Yates. Item #FA00194.

Julie Yates was an American sculptor born in St. Louis. She studied at the Mary Institute and the St Louis School of Fine Arts under George Julian Zolnay. Yates finished her studies in Paris at the Sorbonne and as a pupil of Rodin. She was active in New York during the first quarter of the 1900’s as a bronze sculptor, her work was exhibited at Tiffany Studios and Gorham Galleries. She died in 1929 of pneumonia.

Doctor Louis E. Bisch was a psychologist and author of several books including “Be Glad You’re Neurotic” and “Cure Your Nerves Yourself!” He studied at Columbia University, were he received his Phd and his medical training. Bisch was a charter member of the The New York Psychoanalytic Society, founded in 1911 in New York by Abraham A. Brill. This portrait was made during a particularly productive time in Bisch’s career. In the late 1920’s he wrote many articles, including an advice column, several books and collaborated on play with Howard Merling , “The Killers”, that debuted on Broadway in 1928. He held many controversial, and plainly sexist beliefs that raised eyebrows long before the momentum of the women’s movement took hold. His New York Times obituary from 1963 states plainly “Misogynistic Talk” in it’s subheading.

Condition: There are a couple of minor surface blemishes, but, overall the bronze is in very good condition.