Peter Ganine

Peter Ganine (October 11, 1900 – August 11, 1974) was a Georgian-Russian-American sculptor, best known for his work in ceramics and his chess sets.

Ganine was born in Tiflis, Russia on October 11, 1900, and began his art studies there.^[1] He spent five years as a trader in the Belgian Congo,^[4] before coming to the U.S. in 1931,^[5] on a scholarship to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.^[3]

Ganine settled in Hollywood in 1932, where he would remain for the rest of his life.^[1][4][6] He gained prominence in the local art scene, with his work regularly championed by longtime Los Angeles Times art editor and critic Arthur Millier.^{[7][8][9][10][11][12]}

During World War II, he worked as an aircraft patternmaker.^[4] His artistic subjects were primarily animals and people, and he became especially known for his stylized animal figures. Many of his designs were patented and mass-produced in plastic, making his work widely accessible.^[3][4][13]

Among his most popular creations were a toy whale, which was awarded a prize by the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art,^[4][14] and an "uncapsizeable duck", of which more than 50 million were sold.^[3][15] Other patented works include various stylized animal figures:^[16]

Ganine also designed a new form of chess set that gave human characteristics to the pieces. This was widely cited as the "first major change of design for chess sets in more than a century."^[17]

Ganine married actress Marguerite Churchill on June 5, 1954.^[18][19] He later married a woman named Karin.^[3]

• Superba Gothic chess set (c.1930s)^[20]
• Colt sculpture (c.1939)^[21]
• Baby Centaur sculpture (c.1940) – won first prize in ceramic sculpture at the National Ceramic Exhibition^[6][22]
• Beer Mug sculpture (c.1941)^[7]
• Rudolph sculpture of a Dachshund (c.1941)^[7]
• Bull sculpture (c.1941)^[7]
• Dog sculpture (c.1944)^[23]
• Why sculpture (c.1944)^[8]
• Life Mask of Nicholai Fechin sculpture (1945)^[24]
• Happy Womanhood sculpture (c.1947) – model: Maureen O'Hara^[25]
• Hosanna sculpture of choir boys (c.1948)^[9]
• Classic chess set (1961) – the chess pieces from the Classic chess set were used in Star Trek as part of the tri-dimensional chess set^[26]
• Rearing Colt sculpture^[27]
• Portrait of Marguerite Churchill sculpture^[28]

• 1938 – Group show at the California Art Club^[10]
• 1939 – Golden Gate International Exposition^[29]
• 1939 – Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego^[11][30]
• 1940 – National Ceramic Exhibition at Syracuse Museum of Fine Arts – won first prize for Baby Centaur^[6][22]
• 1942 – "Artist of the Month" for January, solo show at the Los Angeles County Museum^[12]
• 1944 – Society for Sanity in Art group show at Los Angeles County Museum^[8]
• 1960 – Group show at W. & J. Sloane Petite Galerie, Beverly Hills^[31][32]