Sewing Machine by Fumio Yoshimura, c. 1970

Static linden wood sculpture of a treadle sewing machine with carved "Singer" plaque, bobbins, fretwork treadle, drive-belt and wheel, on serpentine base with drawer-fronts, wd. 30 ½ x dp. 16 ½ x ht. 37 in. (78 x 42 x 94 cm). - Accompanying the sculpture is an 8 x 11 in. press photograph of Yoshimura standing before this sewing machine sculpture in his studio, the reverse with pencil inscription: "Fumio Yoshimura, husband of Kate Millet" and press stamp from "The Observer" newspaper, 24. January. - Heralded by the "New York Times" as "Sculptor of (the) Everyday", Fumio Yoshimura (1926-2002) was born in Japan and studied painting at the Tokyo University of Arts. After moving to New York in 1963, Yoshimura taught himself wood carving with an assortment of chisels, knives and drills. He established his own studio and created detailed sculptures of ephemeral life, such as flowers and food, as well utilitarian items - typewriters, motorbikes, machines - which he reproduced on a 1:1 scale in unfinished linden wood. - In 1965 Yoshimura married the prominent American feminist author, artist and activist Kate Millet, whose 1970 work "Sexual Politics" is dedicated to him. - Though he never depicted people in his work, the "New York Times" notes that "human activities are often implied in objects like an apple peeler (containing) a half-skinned piece of fruit". The simple, pared-down lines of Yoshimura's everyday items, which he described as representing the "ghosts of the original objects", are reminiscent of the Pop Art movement and the functionalism of Andy Warhol. - Yoshimura's sculptures are to be found in the collections of national museums, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. - A beautiful work by a significant modern artist.

布雷克拍品等级是为了方便竞买人判断拍卖品的成色而设置的。布雷克等级用1到6级来标注外观和功能的成色，(从非常好到非常差)。 在目录图册里用括号里的2个数字来表示，前一个数字表示外观成色的级别，后一个数字表示功能成色的级别。如(3/2)表示外观成色是3(满意的)，功能成色2(好)。 成色 定义参照下列标准： 1 - 非常好 (未使用过，没有使用痕迹) 2 - 好 (新，极少的使用痕迹) 3 - 满意的 (普通的使用痕迹) 4 - 及格的 (明显的使用痕迹，某个非主要部件是后配的) 5 - 有缺陷的 (极明显的使用痕迹, 某个主要部件是后配的，功能上有缺陷，需要修理) 6 - 非常差 (严重破损, 缺少重要部件)