Fourth of July
View Similar Items
Vance KirklandFourth of July1956
1956
About the Item
- Creator:Vance Kirkland (30 x 28, American)
- Creation Year:1956
- Dimensions:Height: 22.25 in (56.52 cm)Width: 20.25 in (51.44 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Denver, CO
- Reference Number:Seller: DCG 226071stDibs: LU2732728741
Vance Kirkland
As an artist and educator, Vance Kirkland almost single-handedly brought modern art to Denver. At a time when conservative tastes ruled, he came to Colorado and worked in a manner that emphasized process more than subject matter. Rather than pleasing landscapes, he created paintings that expressed the dynamic forces of the universe, often with results that were strange and otherworldly. Standing on principle, he never wavered from his conviction that the arts were respected disciplines and he constantly pushed for the inclusion of modern art in Denver’s public institutions. Deliberately working away from the major art centers, Kirkland’s varied art styles were determined by his compass yet were nationally recognized. Growing up in Ohio, Kirkland began his art studies at the Cleveland School of Art, where he received a diploma in painting and a bachelor’s degree in art education. The former curator of the Denver Art Museum, Diane Vanderlip points to a failed watercolor class as an indicator of both his future stylistic development and his early self-confidence. When the teacher criticized Kirkland for colors that fought with each other, the young man listened to his muse rather than pass the course. Upon graduation, he was offered a job at Princeton, but when the university discovered just how young he was, they withdrew their offer. He then accepted an offer at the University of Denver to establish their art department in 1929. While most schools shunted art offer to the side, Kirkland developed the program as a combination of academics and art. He also got officials to accept nude figure drawing. However, a parting of the ways came when he and the Provost clashed over degree recognition. The subsequent establishment of his Kirkland School of Art became a cultural beacon in this Rocky Mountain capitol. From 1927–44, he worked in a style he referred to as “Designed Realism,” in which natural forms were highly stylized in rhythmic shapes. Working totally in watercolor, he developed an individualized method of applying dots to a saturated color surface. By the end of the 30s, Kirkland’s paintings became larger and more energetic. Hiking in the mountains, the artist was inspired by the unusual shapes of high-altitude plants and trees stunted and bent by the fierce winds. Taking his painting gear, he had to add antifreeze to his paints to work in these demanding conditions. Departing from his ordinary perspective, Kirkland created compositions of open spaces and wild linear elements, which he increasingly liberated from any specific representation. In his fantastic imaginings, he had an affinity with Surrealism, although he had no interest in their Freudian pursuits. Kirkland received national attention with inclusion in exhibitions, such as “Abstract and Surrealist American Art” at the Art Institute of Chicago and “Reality and Fantasy” at the Walker Art Center. In 1946, Knoedler and Company in New York invited him to be one of their artists, which brought solo shows and group exhibitions with artists like Max Ernst. Beginning in the 1940s, he also became more active with the Denver Art Museum, serving in various honorary and formal positions. Both in his capacity as board member and curator, he relentlessly pressed for the recognition of contemporary art and artists. At the same time, his prestige grew when the University of Denver invited him back: this time as Director of the School of Art, Professor of Painting, and Chairman of the Department of Arts and Humanities. In 1941, he married Anne Fox Oliphant Olson, a librarian, and their home was a center for Denver’s cultural life with evening salons and musical performances. His first non-objective painting, Red Abstraction (1951) initiated his break with his past art. Looking back, Kirkland said, “There had to be a way of creating something and I became interested in abstraction.” Deciding to forego watercolor, he experimented with paint and materials, particularly with inventive ways of mixing them. He had always been intrigued by the quality of resistance, and now he used the combination of oil and water to cause unexpected effects. The surface of his canvases became almost like breathing skins. Committed to his new direction, Kirkland didn’t flinch when Knoedler’s dropped him for abandoning his commercially successful style. Moving to greater heights, Kirkland began painting large canvases that suggested cosmic phenomena, some of which he called “nebula.” Although the 50s saw the birth of space exploration, the artist deliberately avoided any astronomical study, preferring instead to paint the mystery beyond his knowledge. When he saw pre-Hubble photographs that looked startlingly similar, he decided to stop. Towards the end of his career, he returned to his earlier practice of layering the surface with dots. The works that first appeared in 1963 were geometric abstractions that share some of the qualities of contemporary Op Art. These later paintings were painstakingly done. Always a tireless worker, he pursued his art even after hepatitis made painting more difficult and physically excruciating, devising a system that suspended him over his canvases.
- Sybils Telling Cosmic Jokes On Mankind, Framed Figurative Abstract Oil PaintingBy Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, COVintage 1960s original semi abstract oil painting, "Sybils Telling Cosmic Jokes On Mankind", by 20th century Denver modernist, Edward Marecak (1919-1993). Painted in bright colors of...Category
1960s Abstract Figurative Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
- The Warrior and the Star Precedes the Sun (Hopi Ceremony, Oraibe, Arizona)By Charles Stewart, 1922-2011Located in Denver, CO20th Century Southwestern Native American oil painting Hopi Ceremony in Oraibe, Arizona by New Mexico artist, Charles C. Stewart (1922-201...Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Geometric Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Parcheesi, Vintage Semi Abstract Oil Painting by Edward Marecak, Board GameBy Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, CO'Parcheesi', vintage 1990 semi abstract oil painting on canvas by 20th century Denver artist, Edward Marecak (1919-1993) of a stylized Parcheesi board ...Category
1990s Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- The King, Mid Century 1958 Abstract Oil Painting, Green Bold Primary ColorsBy Robert Jay WolffLocated in Denver, CO'The King', 1950s abstract oil painting by Robert Wolff (1905-1979), painted in bold colors of red, yellow, green, orange, blue, and black. Oil on canvas, signed, titled, and dated 1...Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Canvas
$15,400 Sale Price20% Off - The Four Winter Months, Semi-Abstract Figure Oil Painting, Red Black Orange BlueBy Edward MarecakLocated in Denver, CO1985 original signed oil painting titled 'The Four Winter Months' by Denver modernist, Edward Marecak (1919-1993) with four abstract/stylized figures painted with colors of red, black, green, gray, blue, and orange. Referential abstraction painted in oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, titled verso. Presented in a vintage frame, outer dimensions measure 24 ½ x 30 ½ x 1 ¼ inches. Image size is 23 ¾ x 30 inches. Provenance: Estate of the artist, Edward Marecak About the Artist: Born Ohio 1919 Died Colorado 1993 Born to immigrant parents from the Carpathian region in Slovakia, Marecak grew up with his family in the farming community of Bennett’s Corners, now part of the town of Brunswick, near Cleveland, Ohio. When he turned twelve, his family moved to a multi-ethnic neighborhood of Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Slovenians in Cleveland. His childhood household cherished the customs and Slavic folk tales from the Old Country that later strongly influenced his work as a professional artist. His junior and senior high projects earned him a full scholarship to the Cleveland Institute of Art (1938-1942) where he studied with Henry George Keller whose work was included in the 1913 New York Armory Show. In 1940 Marecak also taught at the Museum School of the Cleveland Institute. Before being drafted into the military in 1942, he briefly attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art near Detroit, one of the nation’s leading graduate schools of art, architecture, and design. Marecak’s studies at Cranbrook with painter Zoltan Sepeshy...Category
20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Break Dance, 1975 Large Abstract Figurative Collage Painting, Black Pink PurpleBy Margo HoffLocated in Denver, CO'Break Dancers' is an original vintage 1980s painting by Chicago artist, Margo Hoff (1910-2008). From the artist's "Action Series" the painting depicts ...Category
1970s Abstract Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Mixed Media, Acrylic
- "Manhattan Night Life"By Vaclav VytlacilLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He was born to Czechoslovakian parents in 1892 in New York City. Living in Chicago as a youth, he took classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, returning to New York when he was 20. From 1913 to 1916, he enjoyed a scholarship from the Art Students League, and worked with John C. Johansen (a portraitist whose expressive style resembled that of John Singer Sargent), and Anders Zorn. He accepted a teaching position at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1916, remaining there until 1921. This enabled him to travel to Europe to study Cézanne’s paintings and works of the Old Masters. He traveled to Paris, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, and Munich seeking the works of Titian, Cranach, Rembrandt, Veronese, and Holbein, which gave him new perspective. Vytlacil studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Munich, settling there in 1921. Fellow students were Ernest Thurn and Worth Ryder, who introduced him to famous abstractionist Hans Hofmann. He worked with Hofmann from about 1922 to 1926, as a student and teaching assistant. During the summer of 1928, after returning to the United States, Vytlacil gave lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, on modern European art. Soon thereafter, he became a member of the Art Students League faculty. After one year, he returned to Europe and successfully persuaded Hofmann to teach at the League as well. He spent about six years in Europe, studying the works of Matisse, Picasso, and Dufy. In 1935, he returned to New York and became a co-founder of the American Abstract Artists group in 1936. He later had teaching posts at Queens College in New York; the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California; Black Mountain College in North Carolina; and the Art Students League. His paintings exhibit a clear inclination toward modernism. His still lives and interiors from the 1920s indicate an understanding of the art of Cézanne. In the 1930s, his works displayed two very different kinds of art at the same time. His cityscapes and landscapes combine Cubist-inspired spatial concerns with an expressionistic approach to line and color. Vytlacil also used old wood, metal, cork, and string in constructions, influenced by his friend and former student, Rupert Turnbull. He eventually ceased creating constructions as he considered them too limiting. The spatial challenges of painting were still his preference. During the 1940s and 1950s, his works indicated a sense of spontaneity not felt in his earlier work. He married Elizabeth Foster in Florence, Italy, in 1927 and they lived and worked in Positano, Italy for extended periods of time. Later on, they divided their time between homes in Sparkill, New York and Chilmark, Massachusetts, where Vyt, as he was affectionately called, taught at the Martha's Vineyard Art...Category
1930s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- 'Allez!' At the Match. Toulon Rugby Club. Large Expressionist Oil on Canvas.Located in Cotignac, FRLarge abstract expressionist oil on canvas of Toulon Rugby Club supporters at a rugby match. Unsigned. Extremely vibrant and energetic depiction of Toulon ...Category
Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Three Mysteries Abstract ExpressionistBy Kristin CohenLocated in Soquel, CAThree Mysteries by California abstract expressionist artist Kristin Cohen (American, b.1963). Titled "Three Mysteries", signed "Kristin Cohen" and dated "2000" on verso. Image, 30"H ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
$880 Sale Price20% Off - Leader and FollowersLocated in Ibadan, Oyo"Leader and Followers" is a visually striking piece of art that immediately captures the viewer's attention. The artwork, which was created using a combination of oil colors, feature...Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Crimson AdornmentLocated in Ibadan, OyoShipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gallery) About Artist Abiodun Nafiu Azeez is an accomplished artist with a diverse background in contemporary painting, particularly Osogbo art. However, his true passion lies in abstract expression, where he seeks to promote African art, culture, and nature. Influenced by his artist father, he paints to preserve memories and connect with broader societal concerns. Abiodun's artistic style is characterized by the abstraction and simplification of human compositions. He employs vibrant oil colors, often focusing on primary colors that transition into secondary and tertiary hues. His subjects stand out against neutral backgrounds, creating a harmonious balance in his paintings. A prominent feature in his works is the use of red, blue, and yellow tones, subtly blended to emphasize form and shape. His artistic journey includes training under renowned bead painting contemporary artist Jimoh Buraimoh...Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- UntitledLocated in Ibadan, OyoShipping Procedure Ships in a well-protected tube from Nigeria This work is unique, not a print or other type of copy. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Issued by the Gallery) About Artist Abiodun Nafiu Azeez is an accomplished artist with a diverse background in contemporary painting, particularly Osogbo art. However, his true passion lies in abstract expression, where he seeks to promote African art, culture, and nature. Influenced by his artist father, he paints to preserve memories and connect with broader societal concerns. Abiodun's artistic style is characterized by the abstraction and simplification of human compositions. He employs vibrant oil colors, often focusing on primary colors that transition into secondary and tertiary hues. His subjects stand out against neutral backgrounds, creating a harmonious balance in his paintings. A prominent feature in his works is the use of red, blue, and yellow tones, subtly blended to emphasize form and shape. His artistic journey includes training under renowned bead painting contemporary artist Jimoh Buraimoh...Category
1990s Abstract Expressionist Figurative Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil