Shirley Brody sculpture to be auctioned at JCC Talmi event

Companion story: Talmis’ visit to San Diego prompts special JCC programming

By Eileen Wingard

LA JOLLA, California–“Dine With The Talmis,” the dinner prior to Yoav Talmi’s lecture, will include a silent auction for an abstract sculpture entitled “Musician” by sculptress Shirley Brody, a member of the planning committee for the dinner. The 20-inch high solid brass piece will be sold to raise additional funds for the two sponsors, the Astor Judaica Library and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. 

Brody sculpts in a variety of media. One of her works, “Refugees” carved from the trunk of a plum tree, is on permanent display in the Astor Library. Her bronze sculpture of Leonard Bernstein was in the lobby of the Civic Theater when the Israel Philharmonic performed music by Bernstein and Tchaikowsky under the auspices of the La Jolla Music Society in November, 2008.

Eleven of her sculptures formed a one-woman show in the lobby of the North Tower of Classic Residence by Hyatt when that building first opened. One of her bronze pieces is at the Flying Leatherneck Historical Foundation on Miramar Road. Brody’s creations have sold in galleries in Los Angeles and Palm Springs. Collectors across the country, from San Francisco to Boston, have examples of her work. 

The charming artist, who is also an amateur violist and former manager of the Los Angeles Doctor’s Symphony, enjoys telling how she introduced the wife of the great cellist, Gregor Piatigorsky, to stone carving. In Jacqueline Rothschild Piatigorsky’s autobiography, “Jumping the Waves,” she mentions Brody. 

Brody’s “Musician” is on display in the JCC Galleria. Starting bid will be $1800. For further information, call Susan Hagler, 858-457-3030.

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Wingard is a former violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and a freelance writer.