Sculptor Louise Nevelson was born Leah Berliawsky in 1899 in Kiev, Russia, and moved with her family to Rockland in 1905, according to the Louise Nevelson Foundation Web site. She was married in 1920 and moved to New York City, where she lived until her death in 1988.

She mostly created sculptures of assembled wood objects and carried her art into her choice of clothing and accessories by wearing a mix of ethnic articles, topped with a black velvet riding hat and mink eyelashes, according to the Web site, www.louisenevelsonfoundation.org.

She received many awards and honorary degrees, including doctorates from Harvard and Columbia universities. On Nov. 17, 1981, in Portland, Nevelson received Westbrook College’s Deborah Morton Award.

The Deborah Morton Awards, which are presented each year by the trustees of the University of New England ever since Westbrook College merged with UNE in 1996, are presented to “outstanding women who have achieved high distinction in their careers and public service or whose leadership in civic, cultural or social causes has been exceptional,” according to the UNE Web site.

Since 1961, more than 150 women have been honored with the award.

The U.S. Postal Service also issued five postage stamp designs in her honor in 2000.

The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland has the largest public collection of Nevelson’s work after the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. Nevelson donated 87 pieces of art to the Farnsworth, including 56 of her own works, between 1981 and 1985. Other pieces have come from Nevelson’s family, according to museum information.

Sources: Louise Nevelson Foundation’s Web site at www.louisenevelsonfoundation.org; Maine Historical Society’s online museum, Maine Memory Network, at www.mainememory.net; and the University of New England Web site at www.une.edu.

Maine’s history is full of female pioneers who blazed a path for the women of today. The Bangor Daily News, in cooperation with the Maine Historical Society’s online museum, Maine Memory Network, the Maine FolkLife Center and others, will highlight a different woman each day throughout March. If you are just joining us for this series, you may find the installments you have missed at www.bangordailynews.com.