Cleveland in DC part 2: Hugo Robus

Hugo Robus. One and Another. Bronze. 1934. Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Born and raised in Cleveland, Hugo Robus (1885 – 1964) attended the Cleveland School of Art from 1903 to 1907. There he studied painting under Henry G. Keller. After leaving Cleveland for New York, Robus continued his studies at the National Academy of Design from 1907 to 1909, at which point he traveled to Paris where he saw the 1912 Futurist exhibition at the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune. He began painting in the Cubist and Futurist styles when he returned to New York in 1915. By 1920, Robus devoted his time to creating streamlined figurative sculptures.

On display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum is One and Another from 1934. This sculpture depicts the figures of a mother and her baby. The sweeping form of the woman both suggests a playful and protective emotions that a mother shows towards her child. Maternity is a common theme in Robus’ work, and in this example one can get a sense that the mother is totally engaged by the expression on the infant’s face. Her two arms create a sheltering frame in which the parent and her child exchange gazes. The sculpture captures an intimate moment made more powerful because of its abstract simplicity.