Isamu Noguchi Biography

Isamu Noguchi

Born to Japanese poet Yonejiro Noguchi and American writer Leonie Gilmour, Noguchi was born in the U.S. (a Nisei), but was raised in Japan. He returned to the U.S. in the 1920s and studied art at Columbia University and the Leonardo da Vinci School. Noguchi was strongly influenced by the sculptors Constantin Brancusi and Alberto Giacometti. A 1927 Guggenheim fellowship allowed Noguchi to refine his sculptures of stone under Brancusi's tutelage in his Paris studio. In 1935, Noguchi began a 20-year collaboration with Martha Graham designing her sets. In his later life, he developed an interest in gardens and public spaces, and is perhaps best known for his garden at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. In 1987, he received the National Medal of Art.