Today, I noticed a number of truly spectacular dolls created by Dorothy Heizer are being auctioned on Ebay.
"Dorothy Heizer Cloth Doll, Bonnie Prince Charlie, 1952, from a portrait, light blue silk coat with gold cord trim, Royal Stuart kilt and tartan, velvet sporran, holding blue hat, ht. 10 3/4 in.
Born in 1881 in Philadelphia, Dorothy Heizer attended the Pennsylvania Acad
emy of Fine Arts where she studied art, portraiture, and sculpture. In the early 1920s, while raising her young family in Essex Fells, New Jersey, she began making dolls. In this endeavor, all the elements of her formal art training were called into play. Her proces
s included the development of a copper wire skeletal armature to enable posing of the body. This form was padded and covered in a fine crepe, as was the head. Her placement of the neck and head forward of the shoulders was innovative and gave an accurate human presentation. Her fine shaping and needle-sculpting of the features created unique portraits which were complemented by her delicate painting of the facial features with watercolors. All of these artistic elements received her unparalleled attention to detail.
Her subjects were varied and included historical personages, royalty, or subjects taken from notable paintings, such as Gainsborough's "Blue Boy". A fine record of her work
was maintained by the family, and is recorded in Helen Bullard's 1972 publication, "Dorothy Heizer, The Artist and her Dolls". Heizer's dollmaking spanned four decades. In 1962, recognized as a legendary doll-maker, she became a charter member of NIADA, the National Institute of American Doll Artists. The dolls offered here are from the Wells family collection, garnered through the 1940s and 1950s, and noted by Bullard as one of the largest privately held collections."
8 comments:
My great grandmother was Dorthy Heizer. Some of her dolls were given to my Father. I have been curious to how how they are worth.
I am THRILLED to find your website. Truly enjoyed your insighted articles. Can you direct me to more detailed information on Peggy Nisbet and her dolls? Thank you
Dorothy Heizer dolls were bringing over $2500 each on eBay - I'm afraid quite a ways out of my price range!
The best source of information about Peggy Nisbet is "The Peggy Nisbet Story" authored by Peggy Nisbet and published in 1988. It is available on Amazon and occasionally shows up on Ebay as well.
My grandmother was Alice Wells, her daughter was my mother Eleanor. Dorothy made dolls of my mother and her twin Barbara because the families were so close at one time. Both my mother and her twin have been gone many many years, but I would give anything to know how to find some of Dorothy's son Mickey's work. Mickey Heizer was an extraordinary painter and there a few pieces of his work which are treasured in my family. My father gave away or sold several paintings after my mother's death which Mickey had given to her. If anyone has any information about a connection to Mickey's paintings I would be eternally grateful.
My grandmother was Alice Wells, her daughter was my mother Eleanor. Dorothy made dolls of my mother and her twin Barbara because the families were so close at one time. Both my mother and her twin have been gone many many years, but I would give anything to know how to find some of Dorothy's son Mickey's work. Mickey Heizer was an extraordinary painter and there a few pieces of his work which are treasured in my family. My father gave away or sold several paintings after my mother's death which Mickey had given to her. If anyone has any information about a connection to Mickey's paintings I would be eternally grateful.
my mother's family knew Mrs. Heizer and Dorothy made dolls of my mom and her twin. I remember going to her home in Chatham as a child and being mesmerized by the dolls in glass boxes. Is there any way to find out about her son Mickey's paintings? His work was as fine as his mother's and was a powerful influence for me as an artist as well.
Contact Michael Swaine for Mickey's artwork at: swaineedward@gmail.com
We're relatives of Dorthy and Mickey and grew up with their artwork at home, visited them in Chatham, and Mickey visted us in Manlius once a year as kids. Favorite uncle of all time. Our mom is a Heizer, Elizabeth, brother David, sister Nancy.
I'm David Jansen Swaine, named after David Heizer.
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