Maxim M Elias
b. appx 1916-- d.1967
Artist and sculptor Maxim was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He arrived in San Francisco with his parents as a toddler after a journey on the TransSiberian Rail Road, trekking through Siberia, China and Japan at the outbreak of the Russian Revolution.
​
After graduating High School at 14, Maxim assisted his father at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. (notably helping to stuff the exotic new hippopotumus), while waiting to be old enough to enroll in college. He then got a B.A. at the University of Kansas, where his father was a professor, and an advanced scientific degree at the University of Iowa.
He began exhibiting sculpture and winning art awards while at college, studying art at K.U. with Albert Blach and Bernard Frazier, and with Emil Ganzo and Fletcher Martin at I.U. During WWII, while working as a civilian in Europe with the U.S. army, Maxim studied drawing at the Ruskin Drawing School of Fine Art in Oxford England (University of London). After returning to the States, he studied with Heinz Warneke at the Corcoran Gallery of Fine Art in Washington D.C.
He continued to exhibit and win many awards in Corcoran shows over the years, notably in 1948 first prize in sculpture with his FOUR PIECES OF OAK in a show curated by Alfred H. Barr Jr. (of Museum of Modern Art fame). His WOMAN IN CHAIR was exhibited in New York City at the Sculpture Center associated with the Museum of Modern Art in a show of 10 new artists, and he exhibited widely in the Washington D.C. area from the late 1940's through the early 1960's, at the National Gallery of Art (Smithsonian) Rotunda, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Artists Guild of Washington D.C., the Sculptor's Gallery, the Obelisk Gallery in Georgetown, the Barnett Aden Gallery, the Franz Bader Gallery, Pan American Union/Artists Guild, the Washington Sculptors Group-Kiln Club, the Society of Washington Artists, and the Georgetown Day School summer art fairs (along with well-known artists David Smith, Pietro Lazzaro, and Ken Noland), among other venues. He also exhibited in Baltimore, Newark, and Philedelphia.
​
His commissioned works include a large sculpture of an angel mounted on a building in S.E. Washington D.C. for collector Irving Biow. Other of Maxim's works are in private collections including those of Mr. and Mrs. C.V. Whitney, and Jack and Cottie Dobbs.
​
He often showed with D.C. painter (and friend) Dante Radice, and shared a duo show in Washington D.C. with his painter wife Myra Elias in 1958. In the 1960's he and his son, sculptor Max K Elias, often both exhibited in the same shows in the Washington D.C. area.
SELECTED AWARDS:
Corcoran Museum of Art-- Sculptors of Virginia, Washington and Maryland 1948
FIRST PRIZE sculpture (BEST IN SHOW) "Four Pieces of Oak"
judged by Alfred H. Barr, Jr., the first director of
the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City
​
Washington Sculptor's Group--Kiln Club 1951
FIRST PRIZE sculpture "Head of Ethyl Butler"
​
Society of Washington Artists 1948
FIRST PRIZE sculpture "Reclining Figure in Beaten Lead"
Selected awarding winning artworks: "Shy Girl"1945, "Arkose" 1951, "Guitar Player" 1951, "Nymph" 1947, "Venus on the Half Shell" 1938, "Woman and Chair" 1952, "Red Stone Head" and others.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
Baltimore Museum of Art, 1943,
Corcoran Museum of Art (repeatedly in Annual Area Exhibitions from late 1940's through 1960), Washington D.C.
Smithsonian/The National Collection of Fine Arts/ Rotunda shows (repeatedly from late 1940's through 1962), Washington D.C.
The Society of Washington Artists (repeatedly from late 1940's through 1960's)
Museum of Modern Art/the Sculpture Center, New York City
Philadelphia Academy of Art (PAFA), 1948
Pan American Union/ Artists Guild of Washington, D.C. 1949
Washington Sculptors Group-Kiln Club of Washington; Washington DC, 1951
The Artists Guild of Washington at the Watkins Gallery, American University, 1953
The Obelisk Gallery, Washington D.C., 1960's
The Sculptor's Gallery, Washington DC, 1958
The Barnett Aden Gallery, Washington DC,1961
Intransit Gallery, Washington D.C., 1949
Peabody Library, Georgetown (Washington D.C.), 1948
Georgetown Day School summer art fairs (repeatedly from 1950's through early 1960's)
​
Artshow Highlights
FOUR PIECES OF OAK
FOUR PIECES OF OAK
Maxim M Elias's"Four Pieces of Oak" wins first prize in the Corcoran Gallery of Art exhibition 1948 in show curated by Alfred H. Barr Jr. of NYC Museum of Modern Art.
WOMAN IN CHAIR
Maxim M exhibits his sculpture "Woman and Chair" in New York City's Sculpture Center's Spring Exhibition 1952
WOMAN IN CHAIR
ANGEL
ANGEL
Maxim M's sculpture of an angel in beaten copper installed 1953 on an apartment building in Washington D.C. for collector Irving Biow. Now lost and in possession of another collector.
AVAILABLE FOR purchase
PRESS & PROGRAM ARCHIVES
Memory Lane
 Maxim M Elias in his 20'sStudio portrait of Maxim M as a graduate student |  Maxim M and wife Myra EliasPost WWII, Max and Myra pose in their living room in Washington D.C. |  Maxim M in Alaska in cold weatherMaxim M on wartime mission in Alaska during WWII. |  Maxim M in his mid-30's |
|---|---|---|---|
 Maxim M in Arlington Va.Maxim smokes a cigarette outside the Va. family apartment |  Maxim M in EuropeMaxim M photographed in Europe during WWII while working on a project for the U.S. Army Geological Survey |  Maxim M at cocktail partyMaxim M reaches for a beverage in Georgetown |  Portrait of Maxim M smokingPortrait of Maxim M with moustache painted on wood by daughter Alix Elias (age 5) |
 Maxim M Elias winning awardMaxim M a winner in his 40's. |  Maxim M Elias at art show with friendMaxim M chatting up patron of the arts at art show opening |  Maxim M rides bicycleA youthful Maxim M attempts to bicycle around London during the Blitz WWII |  Myra and Maxim M at MardigrasNew Orleans Mardigras in the 1950's. Maxim M and Myra in costume as Harlequin figures. |
 Maxim M with artist friendsArtists Maxim M, Robert Yampolski, Myra Elias, and Dante Radice explore romantic ruins in W. Va. |  Maxim M on top of derelict trainMaxim M poses on train with artists Robert Yampolsky and Myra Elias in W. Va. outing. |  Maxim M and Myra in their 20'sYoung marrieds in photo booth. |  Maxim M and son Max K EliasMaxim M with baby Max K in 1940. |
 Very young marrieds in the snowMaxim M and Myra Elias pose outdoors in Winter wearing furry hoods. |