The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons, by sculptor and folk art collector Elie Nadelman (1882-1946), was purchased by cosmetics entrepreneur Helena Rubinstein and used to decorate her Fifth Avenue beauty salon. Both Polish émigrés who influenced New York cultural life in the early 20th century, Nadelman and his patron formed an enduring collaboration that began soon after their meeting in 1911. Although entitled The Four Seasons after his death, Nadelman's statuettes depict women grooming and dressing themselves.