Sascha Brastoff - a mid-century modern DaVinci
by Steve Conti



Back in the 1950s, bigger was always better. Cars became longer, fins higher and hair more bouffant. This was the perfect climate for a larger than life artist, ceramist, dancer, designer, sculptor and talk of the town: Sascha Brastoff. Screen legend and noted art aficionado Edward G. Robinson proclaimed, "Sascha is a modern day Cellini; a contemporary DaVinci." Sascha Brastoff had "arrived" in Hollywood...

Actually, Sascha arrived in Cleveland, Ohio (in 1918) as Samuel Brostofsky. An early aptitude for art lead him to The Clay Club in New York City's Greenwich Village. With fellow alumni Louise Nevelson and Isamu Noguchi, he concentrated on his primary love for highly imaginative and detailed sculpting. Mass production of ashtrays and decorative household items were farthest in his mind. I feel some of the finest work he ever created was during these early years (1938 to 1945.) When not at school, Sascha made a living designing window displays for the famed Macy's Department Store in Herald Square. In 1940, his first (and only) one man show (at the Clay Club's Sculpture Gallery), showcased 37 original hand sculpted terra cotta "Whimsies." A huge success, as all of these sold to prestigious New York collectors. Today, only three have known to survive (Sascha's family retained "Europa and the Bull"; Brastoff biographer Steve Conti has "Mermaid" and "Tumblers.")

After serving his patriotic duty during WWII (please refer to my book for many more interesting details), Sascha moved to Los Angeles in 1946 and started a seven year contract with 20th C. Fox Studios as a costume designer. One year and three films later (after meeting Winthrop Rockefeller), Sascha ankled this agreement with Fox to start a small decorative arts studio / factory in West Los Angeles. From a single proprietor situation, this facility grew to include a handful of staff artists, administrators, etc. (until 1951.) Rockefeller offered to back him in a new, state of the art studio / factory (I refer to as the second factory.) The A. Quincy Jones designed complex opened to much fanfare and a star studded celebrity party on November 18, 1953. By the mid to latter 1950s, Sascha became a huge icon in Los Angeles, often appearing on local television and traveling around the country to promote his work at major department stores. He left his beloved factory sometime in mid 1962 and entered into a period of reflection, personal reevaluation and reinvention, concentrating only on pastel and oil painting (along with home studio made enamels.) 1965 and 1966 brought experimentation in freeform magnesium sculpture (and a well, long overdue showing at the Dalzell Hatfield Galleries in the Ambassador Hotel; Los Angeles.) More pastel painting sustained Sascha in 1967, when he was commissioned to create the 13 foot by 7 foot gold plated crucifix (and altar pieces) for St. Augustine By-The-Sea Episcopal Church; Santa Monica, California. His next big project and co-venture (with room mate and famed costume designer Howard Shoup) was "Esplanade", a rare upscale retail venue also located in Santa Monica. The early to mid 1970s exposed Sascha to the world of product endorsement (or, lending his good name and reputation to designing for other companies.) Among these, he created 24K goldplated costume jewelry for Merle Norman Cosmetics, decorative switchplates for lighting and bathroom accessories for Melard, Inc. and, arguably his best co-venture, designing the six piece sterling "Silver Circus" in conjunction with Franklin Mint. Available only to established FM customers, this limited edition set cost almost $1,500.00 and contained just under 40 ounces of sterling silver (with 24K gold embellishment.) According to one expert and collector, only 711 sets were made and, if all were presumably sold, would have grossed over $1 million! Custom fine jewelry in the mid to late 1970s, retailed from California Jewelsmiths of Beverly Hills (and eventually Sascha's home) brought him into the early '80s, when poor health prevented him from keeping up the usual pace and output.

I tell collectors Sascha Brastoff conquered every medium, working with precious metals and gemstones, ceramics, oil painting, arc welded steel sculpture, styrofoam, stoneware, lucite, plastics, newspaper!, pipe cleaners, found objects (including animal bones reclaimed from the desert) - too many to mention (excluding glass.) He passed away on February 4, 1993, leaving a legacy of work spanning over 45 years. Over the past 10 years (since the release of "Collector's Encyclopedia of Sascha Brastoff" BIOGRAPHY IDENTIFICATION & VALUES) I've tried to educate collectors on Sascha's entire body of work and life's output. It's the only way to understand where a particular piece fits in. What was his frame of mind at the time? What was going on in his personal and professional lives? Personally, I feel Sascha was sidetracked by his global success, as it "forced" him to concentrate on designing items for mass consumption. And they consumed. He had a factory (er, factories) to keep going and an enormous group of decorators to keep busy. As wildly creative as Sascha was, he still had to consider the taste of the buying public, which was not necessarily his own flavor. I have never lost my zeal to hunt for items even I haven't seen yet. Sascha never disappoints, as I discover different facets of this creative genius all the time. Currently, I am writing a prequel to the first book. This text will tighten up the chronology from the first book and detail Sascha's experiences in New York City and his tour of duty during World War II. The book will be available Spring 2007 and will be dedicated to A. DeWayne Bethany, a truly kind and gentle man, and Earleen "Christy" Kirby, who's love for Sascha and longtime friendship can finally be recognized. Feel free to contact me through www.brastoff.com - it is always a privilege and pleasure to chat with collectors.



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