Balancing Elephant
Louis-Albert Carvin (France, 1875-1951)
Bronze, marble 
Circa 1930s, Art Deco
8 x 7.5 x 2 (4 1/4 x 7 1/2 x 1 7/8 figure) inches 
 
Artist Louis-Albert Carvin, born in Paris in 1875, was exposed to art from an early age through his painter father. Carvin's formal education in art began at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he studied under artists like Émmanuel Frémiet and Georges Gardet. Over the years, artist Louis-Albert Carvin became a renowned sculptor, dedicating his life’s work to the modeling of human and animal figures. He studied under Fremiet and Gardet and became a member of the Société des Artistes Français, exhibiting at the Salon des Artists Francais from 1894 until 1933 winning the Medal of Honor in his first year in 1894. 
 
Remarkably, he sculpted La Muse de l’Aviation, the bronze trophy given on May 1, 1909, to Wilbur and Orville Wright on the occasion of their reception by the Aéro-Club de la Sarthe in Le Mans, France. 
 
Another example of his work ‘Borzoi’ 1934, can be seen in Clamart (Paris), Square de la Maison Blanche.
 
Through his work in bronze, terra cotta, and spelter, he was awarded France's Medal of Honor in 1894. The artist died on January 6, 1951, in Paris, France.