Originally from New York City, Finke resides on Long Island. Exhibitions of her work have been held in states along the East Coast and in England, Finland, Germany, and Italy. She is representedin collections at The Butler Institute of American Art, Ohio; Brookgreen Gardens, South Carolina; the National Academy of Design, New York; New Jersey's Newark Museum; the National PortraitGallery and National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C.; and other major museums, as well as private collections in this country, Japan and Europe. Besides her figurative works, Finke is alsorecognized internationally for her design and casting of medals, which she has been making since 1986.

Leonda Finke's sculpture has been primarily concerned with the human figure. "There I find constantly changing forms [and] a wealth of formal vocabulary [that] is a vehicle for expressing thebasic emotions that shape our lives."

Winning her first national prize from the National Association of Women Artists in 1965, she has consistently been recognized for excellence in her work. In 1989 she was awarded the NationalSculpture Society's Gold Medal, in 1990 she received the Alex Ettl Cash Award from the National Academy of Design, and in 1991, 1992, and 1993 she again won prizes and awards from the NationalSculpture Society. In 1994 she became an elected Academician of the National Academy of Design.

She has had many solo and group exhibitions, including: Cast Iron Gallery, New York; Newark Museum, New Jersey; the National Academy of Design, New York; the American Numismatic Museum, New York;the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York; the Norfolk Museum, Virginia; and The Dallas Museum, Texas. Her 6 foot bronze works have been featured in the Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition at Chesterwood,the national historic museum and grounds of the American sculptor, Daniel Chester French, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Leonda Finke's work in bronze medals has won recognition from the prestigious Federation Internationale de la Medaille. She was invited to show her work at their Medal Exhibition in Helsinki,Finland in 1990. In 1992, she was both an invited lecturer at the British Museum and had her medal, "Virginia Woolf: A Room of One's Own" featured on the cover of the British Art Medal society'sBritish Museum Exhibition Catalogue.

Her bronze portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Museum's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Her medals are in the collection of the BritishMuseum, the National Museum of American History (Smithsonian), the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, and in many private collections throughout the United States and Europe.

To read the complete article, see:
Leonda Finke, American (1922 - ) (http://rogallery.com/Finke_Leonda/finke-biography.html)

To read the complete article, see:
Conversation with Leonda Froehlich Finke (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lvhbdyhKgs)

Leonda Finke demonstrating wet plaster modeling technique during the AMSA Hardford conference

Leonda Frosch Finke
Born, Brooklyn NY 1922; Died Roslyn NY 6-6-2017

She studied drawing at the Art Students League and Sculpture at the Educational Alliance. Married the late Arnold Finke, set up a studio in Roslyn Long Island, NY, where she taught privately in asmall studio on the property and raised three children.

Solo exhibitions from 1967, group exhibitions from 1986.

Medals:
Brookgreen Gardens Medal, 2007
American Academy of Otolaryngology, 1996
Society of Medallists. Issue #118, Prodigal Son, 1988
British Art Medal Society, Virginia Woolf "A room on one's own'

Select list of awards:
1984, 1995 National Academy of Design Medal
1989 Gold Medal, National Sculpture Society
1997 J. Sanford Saltus Medal, ANS
2006 Numismatic Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture, ANA.

Leonda finke receiving the Saltus Medal from Stephen K. Scher and Alan M. Stahl

Lifesize sculpture can be seen at:
Kingsborough Community College,
Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ
Brookgreen Gardens, SC

Academician, National Academy of Design
Fellow, National Sculpture Society
Life Fellow, American Numismatic Society
Founding member, American Medallic Sculpture Association
Member, FIDEM
Member, New York Society of Women Artisits
Member, Sculptors Guild
Member, The Century Association
Past president, Audubon Artists

Conversation with Leonda Froehlich Finke, 2011 Chesterwood Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lvhbdyhKgs

Book:
Leonda Finke
Rudder Finn Press 2006; 288 pages. ISBN: 1932646213, 9781932646214