c. 1940

Yara

Brazilian, 1894 - 1973

In her sculptures of the 1940s, Maria Martins often drew upon the legends of Indigenous peoples native to Brazil, her home country. At the time, these sculptures garnered her attention in the New York art world, where there was deep interest in mythological archetypes. This over-life-size figure is a depiction of Yara, the enchantress who lives in the rivers of Amazon rainforests, seduces mortal men with song, and drags them to watery deaths. Simulated droplets course down the figure, while the sculpture’s base takes the form of a large lotus plant native to tropical South America with added fishlike forms. The museum acquired this sculpture soon after the artist produced it, and Yara was first displayed on the building’s East Terrace not far from the central fountain, as befitted the aquatic theme.