Remembering Dora

Dora Natella was at the peak of her career as a sculptor and educator when her life was upended. Shortly after the unveiling of The Spirit of Indiana, she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. Despite a poor prognosis, she would not give in; she survived several near-death experiences in her cancer journey. Following a hopeful turn in her healing process, she was involved in a tragic car accident on April 11, 2023, that took her life only a few miles from her home near South Bend, Indiana.

The emptiness left by her death is being filled by her powerful art. An archive of her life’s work is now being curated by her son, Andrea, so that her creative spirit may continue to be shared with the world.

Dora was courageous and persistent. Like many artists, she lived through moments of intense financial hardship. She once put a second mortgage on her home to create an outdoor sculpture titled Gaia, which embodies the state of our collective home, earth. As a student of the Renaissance figurative tradition, her work was controversial to the provincial viewer. And as one of the few female sculptors in today’s society she experienced discrimination firsthand in a man’s world. It was through her art that Dora could address these struggles.

Dora was unique. Her work celebrates the human form and these forms are imbued with deeply personal narrative but they also speak to more universal themes of identity, sexuality, feminism, and motherhood. She left a legacy of beauty that will move people for generations to come.

About the Artist

Dora retired from Indiana University South Bend where she was an Associate Professor in the Raclin School of the Arts for nearly 20 years. Her career culminated with the unveiling of The Spirit of Indiana on the flagship campus of Indiana University in Bloomington. The 4,830-pound bronze sculpture is a monument to academic and athletic excellence and sits on Miller Plaza where it is a popular destination for students, faculty, and visitors. Her artwork is also featured on the IU South Bend campus and in public venues and private collections across the United States and around the world.

Dora was born in Venezuela and raised and educated in Italy where she studied sculpture in the classical tradition at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. In 1980, she moved to the United States where she earned a Master in Fine Arts in Sculpture at Western Michigan University and went on to work as the Sculpture Area Coordinator at Indiana University in Bloomington. In 1996, she joined the Fine Arts Faculty at the University of Oregon and was awarded a Fulbright Award in 1997 to foster ties between Venezuela and the United States. She came to IU South Bend in 2004. In 2012 and 2014, she received Indiana Arts Commission Individual Artist Grants and in 2021 she received the IU South Bend Distinguished Research Award. She was a fellow at the National Sculpture Society and a member of Chicago Sculpture International, the International Sculpture Center, and other professional organizations.

Dora was an advocate for art in public places and many of her pieces are on display. Euterpe's Gift is outside Northside Hall on the IU South Bend campus, Unlikely Balance is part of the permanent collection at the Midwest Museum of American Art in Elkhart and Overseer is on loan at Ronan Park in Chicago. In her work, she maintains an allegiance to a legacy of the figurative tradition from the Renaissance but with openness to contemporary modes of expression.

Her sculptures have won many awards and are part of several private and public collections including Robert Duncan, Lincoln, NE; Museo de Arte Moderno Jaun Astorga Anta, Merida, Venezuela; Marco D'Andrea, Rome, Italy; Oakton College, Permanent Outdoor Sculpture Collection, Skokie, IL; Midwest Museum of American Art, Permanent Collection, Elkhart, IN; Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI; and the Indiana University South Bend, Outdoor Sculpture Collection.

Here are the latest posts from Dora’s Instagram.