Burton Freund
"Phi Beta Red Kappa"
Carved Ebony
"Phi Beta Red Kappa"
Carved Ebony
American, Signed, c.1938
24 Inches
Burton Freund was an important American sculptor and illustrator, creating a body of figurative original art that spanned decades. His illustrations were prominently featured in virtually every American literary publication/magazine from, The New Yorker to The Saturday Review of Literature. The work of Burton Freund mirrored the history and culture of America through the great depression and into the modern world of the 1950's.
(310) 274-8047
9009 Beverly Blvd.
West Hollywood, California 90048On the train platform in Chicago in 1938, the artist met a, "Red Cap" porter and noticed a key hanging from his neck inscribed, "Phi Beta Kappa." He asked the man about the key, and was told that he was indeed a graduate Phi Beta Kappa. When asked why he was working as a train porter, the man told him, "This is the best job I could find." The artist carved him out of solid ebony including the monogrammed key hanging around his neck, and titled the sculpture, "Phi Beta Red Kappa"
