Editing Isamu Noguchi (section)

==Early artistic career (1922–1927)==
After high school, Noguchi explained his desire to become an artist to Rumely;<ref>Noguchi, 1968. p. 14</ref> though Rumely preferred that Noguchi become a doctor, he acknowledged Noguchi's request and sent him to [[Connecticut]] to work as an apprentice to his friend [[Gutzon Borglum]]. Best known as the creator of [[Mount Rushmore National Memorial]], Borglum was at the time working on the group called ''[[Wars of America]]'' for the city of Newark, New Jersey, a work of art that includes forty-two figures and two [[equestrian sculpture]]s.  As one of Borglum's apprentices, Noguchi received little training as a sculptor; his tasks included arranging the horses and modeling for the monument as [[General Sherman]]. He did, however, pick up some skills in casting from Borglum's Italian assistants, later fashioning a bust of [[Abraham Lincoln]].<ref>Noguchi, 1968. pp. 14–15</ref> At summer's end, Borglum told Noguchi that he would never become a sculptor, prompting him to reconsider Rumely's prior suggestion.<ref>Noguchi, 1968. p. 15</ref>

He then traveled to New York City, reuniting with the Rumely family at their new residence, and with Dr. Rumely's financial aid enrolled in February 1922 as a [[medicine|premedical]] student at [[Columbia University]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=Fall 2020|title=The Abstract Sculptor Who Melded East and West|url=https://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/issue/fall-2020/article/abstract-sculptor-who-melded-east-and-west|access-date=November 12, 2020|website=Columbia College Today}}</ref> Soon after, he met the [[bacteriologist]] [[Hideyo Noguchi]], who urged him to reconsider art, as well as the Japanese dancer [[Michio Itō]], whose celebrity status later helped Noguchi find acquaintances in the art world.<ref name=Ito-help>[http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/oralhistories/transcripts/noguch73.htm "Interview with Isamu Noguchi. November 7, 1973."]. Cummings, Paul. Retrieved October 19, 2006.</ref> Another influence was his mother, who in 1923 moved from Japan to California, then later to New York.

In 1924, while still enrolled at Columbia, Noguchi followed his mother's advice to take night classes at the [[Leonardo da Vinci Art School]]. The school's head, [[Onorio Ruotolo]], was immediately impressed by Noguchi's work. Only three months later, Noguchi held his first exhibit, a selection of [[plaster]] and [[terracotta]] works. He soon dropped out of Columbia University to pursue sculpture full-time, changing his name from Gilmour (the surname he had used for years) to Noguchi.

After moving into his own studio, Noguchi found work through commissions for portrait busts, and won the [[Logan Medal of the Arts]]. During this time, he frequented ''avant garde'' shows at the galleries of such modernists as [[Alfred Stieglitz]] and [[J. B. Neuman]], and took a particular interest in a show of the works of Romanian-born sculptor [[Constantin Brâncuși]].<ref>Noguchi, 1968. p. 16</ref>

In late 1926, Noguchi applied for a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]]. In his letter of application, he proposed to study stone and wood cutting and to gain "a better understanding of the human figure" in Paris for a year, then spend another year traveling through Asia, exhibit his work, and return to New York.<ref name=Guggenheim>[http://www.noguchi.org/proposals.html#guggenheim "Proposal to the Guggenheim Foundation (1927)"]. The Noguchi Museum. Retrieved October 18, 2006. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061003111005/http://www.noguchi.org/proposals.html#guggenheim |date=October 3, 2006 }}</ref> He was awarded the grant despite being three years short of the age requirement.