Henri Laurens
* 18th FEBRUARY 1885 IN PARIS (F)
† 5th MAY 1954 IN PARIS (F)
The Frenchman Henri Laurens was a cubist sculptor. After an apprenticeship as a stone mason from 1899 until 1905 he worked on ornamental sculptures in the construction industry. From 1911 he joined the group of artists in the Montparnasse. George Braque, a life long friend introduced him to cubism in 1912.In 1913 he took part in the Salon des Indépendants in Paris and met Juan Gris, Amedeo Modigliani, and Pablo Picasso. Inspired by Picasso he created Post-Cubist works in the 1920s after which the influence of surrealism overtook his work. He died in 1954 in Paris. His work has been shown in numerous exhibitions in America and Europe. In 1953 he was awarded the Great Prize during the Biennale in São Paulo.
