KLEECK, Anne Van, (American, 1922-1998): "Clown", modernist bronze sculpture, unsigned, affixed to marble plinth, overall measures 20" h. x 16" x 15". Condition: Chips to marble, slightly loose on base. Acquired directly from the artist's estate. Catalogs in photos not included. Van Kleeck was primarily known for her works in cast bronze and ceramics. She attended Ohio Wesleyan University (B.A.) and Ohio State University (M.A.) and spent several years as a professor of art in Ohio and Florida. In 1957, Anne traveled to Venice, Italy to study bronze and lost wax casting, beaten iron and mosaic techniques. During that stay she employed an Italian foundry expert and together they established a small foundry on Murano where they cast bronzes for her one woman show in Venice. Van Kleecks work has won multiple awards and is owned worldwide by private collectors and museums, including the Metropolitan Museum and MOMA in New York. She was contemporaries of and exhibited with Ruth Asawa, Gary Knox Bennett and many other respected bay area artists. Anne lived much of her life in the bay area of California and is known for her 20-foot bronze sculpture of Saint Clare commissioned by the city of Santa Clara, California in 1965. Van Kleeck also showed her work and won awards in Sarasota, Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida. Anne spent her later years living in Temple Terrace, Florida where she died in 1998.