jack pohr
Still Life with Bouquet
c.1960

About the Item

This artwork "Still Life with Bouquet" is an oil painting on hardboard by noted Russian/American artist Jack Pohr, 1918-2003. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The artwork size is 31 x 25 inches, framed size is 35.25 x 28.25 inches. Custom framed in original rustic style grey and gold frame. It is in excellent condition. About the artist: Jack Pohr was born September 19, 1918 in Kiev Russia. His given name was Jakiw Pohrebynsky. It is not known at what point he changed his name, but it was probably after leaving Europe and migrating to America. His family, of Russian Aristocracy, was forced to flee Russia shortly after his birth to escape the dangers and ravages of the Russian Revolution. The family settled in Poland where Jack grew up and eventually studied art. It was apparently during this time that he learned his distinctive, heavy impasto, or "raised paint" technique that he used on many of his works throughout his life. The technique involved building up the paint in certain areas of his paintings for emphasis and in so doing giving an almost dimensionality to his work. The technique can look somewhat crude or "muddy" at close range, but become stunning when viewed somewhat farther away. During World War II he met his future wife, Lisa Dworkina Tutmaison, who was also from aristocratic parents. Born in the Ukraine, she and her family fled Russia in front of the invading German army. In a Kansas City Times (1952) newspaper interview, Pohr described being interred in a Nazi concentration camp during the war. There he learned the violin and became so accomplished that he was able to save his life and avoid the gas chambers by playing his music for the entertainment of his German captors. After the war, he and his wife left war-torn Europe and migrated first to Canada and later to the United States. They eventually settled in Manitou Springs, Colorado, near the scenic Garden of the Gods. There Jack had a studio where he painted and made his own frames. He and Lisa would at times travel extensively promoting his paintings. Jack became nationally famous as a portraitist and landscape painter. His portrait commissions took him across the country to both coasts where his clients included many famous people, including Averell Harriman and President John F. Kennedy. Once reminiscing to a friend, he said that as he painted the president in the Oval Office, the president's small son, John-John, would come in and sit to watch him paint. Pohr passed away in 2003 at the age of 84. His only son died of a stroke a year later, and his wife Lisa died shortly thereafter in January of 2006. His works are held in the Denver Public Library and Colorado Springs Fine Art Museum as well as in private collections.

Creator:

jack pohr (1918 - 2003, Russian, American)

Creation Year:

c.1960

Dimensions:

Height: 35.25 in (89.54 cm)Width: 28.25 in (71.76 cm)Depth: 1.25 in (3.18 cm)

Medium:

Oil

Movement & Style:

Impressionist

Period:

Mid-20th Century