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Art dolls are objects of art, rather than children's toys, created in a wide variety of styles and media, and may include both pre-manufactured parts or wholly original works.
Contents
History
Art dolls production demand a wide range of skills and technologies, including sculpting, painting, and costuming. They are often multimedia objects made from materials such as fabric, paperclay, polymer clay, wax, wood, porcelain, natural or synthetic hair, yarn, wool, and felt.
One-Of-A-Kind (OOAK) art dolls may command prices in the thousands of dollars; publications featuring established and emerging doll artists support collection, and artist groups, such as the National Institute of American Doll Artists, promote the art form. Art Doll Quarterly by Stampington & Company is one example of a print publication exclusively dedicated to engaging doll artists and collectors.
Selected examples
2008's Melbourne Fringe Festival featured the work of Rachel Hughes and curator Sayraphim Lothian, amongst others. The elaborate ball-jointed ceramic dolls of Marina Bychkova fetch prices from $5,000 to $45,000, and are collected by the likes of Louis Vuitton designers. In 2010, Facebook banned images of an art doll by Bychkova posted by Sydney jeweller Victoria Buckley; included were images of a semi-naked doll used to display jewellery in her shop window. In 2014 celebrity repaint doll artist, Noel Cruz, repainted a Barbie in the likeness of Jennifer Lawrence’s character from The Hunger Games that sold at auction on Ebay for $2,500. Eco-designer, Ryan Jude Novelline, created a commemorative art doll from a vintage Barbie recognizing marriage equality in the United States in June 2015.