Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

John Von Wicht
Abstract Pastel Crayon Drawing Color Abstract, Seasonal Letter John Von Wicht

$950
£709.60
€822.67
CA$1,319.05
A$1,478.49
CHF 769.80
MX$18,052.95
NOK 9,773.72
SEK 9,264.61
DKK 6,138.03
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Provenance: Virginia Field, arts administrator; New York, N.Y. Assistant director for Asia House gallery. (she was friends with John von Wicht, Bernard Childs, John Ford and Andy Warhol) Johannes Von Wicht was born in Holstein, Germany on February 3, 1888. His mother moved the family to Oldenburg when Von Wicht was in elementary school and he began to visit the artist Gerhard Bakenhus. Von Wicht’s mother had arranged for him to apprentice at the studio of master painter F.W. Adels. There he learned to prepare paints with linseed oil and later commented on the lasting impression of colors throughout his career. Interior of a Farmhouse was his first painting completed in 1907. Gerhard Bakenhus was able to include the painting to in the Bremer Kunsthalle exhibition in 1908. Due to the critical success of this piece Von Wicht was accepted to the private art school of the Grand Duke of Hesse in Darmstadt. Fundamental themes of simplicity, nature, and poetry were instilled in the students. The students also studied ancient art, Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, as well as Mathias Grünewald, Albrecht Dürer, Martin Schongauer, Hans Memling, and other German masters whose work was in local collections. Von Wicht subsequently studied printing methods at the Royal School for Fine and Applied Arts in Berlin, but said he skipped class frequently to visit exhibitions of the newest painting—van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, Edvard Munch, Paul Gauguin, Wassily Kandinsky, and Franz Marc. Von Wicht continued to pursue the arts with a three-year scholarship to the Royal School of Fine & Applied Arts in Berlin. There he was influenced by the city’s avant-garde art scene. In 1911 his work was included in the Free Berlin Secession exhibition. During his service in WWI Von Wicht was wounded and partially paralyzed. While recovering he worked on book designs and illustrations. In 1923 Von Wicht immigrated to the United States, leaving a post-war Berlin and its economic hardships. He found his place at the Ardsley Art Academy in Brooklyn and secured a job at the U.S. Printing and Lithography Company, later moving to work at Ravenna Mosaic. While working for the mosaic company, Von Wicht designed a vestibule for the St. Louis Cathedral in a classic Byzantine manner. After a few years he had established enough contacts to become an independent mosaic contractor, setting up an office on Park Ave to handle private commissions, with a studio in Brooklyn Heights. Von Wicht’s first attempt at abstraction was not until 1937 when he created his “Force” series in watercolor, commemorating Juliana Force, the first director of the Whitney Museum of American Art. This group of paintings were clearly influenced by Kandinsky’s geometrical abstractions. In 1941 Von Wicht was accepted into a show at the Whitney, whereupon he was recognized and acknowledged both by his critics as well as his peers. Challenged by cubism and surrealism, Von Wicht had yet to find his own personal artistic vocabulary within abstract expressionism. By 1950 Von Wicht was painting full time and able to explore his personal expression of abstraction as a mature artist, returning to drawing in order to solve problems of content and composition. Far Eastern calligraphy was a major influence for Von Wicht that moved his works into a more vertical format. In 1951 Von Wicht had his second solo exhibit at the Passedoit Gallery, which won him much critical acclaim. He held another show at the Passedoit in 1954 with works based on musical symphonies, using elements of abstraction to provide a spiritual analysis of the music itself. He created innovative works on rice paper while spending a winter at the McDowell Colony, an artist-in residence program in New Hampshire. He attempted automatic sketching as a direct translation of inner movement to find equilibrium within his work. Towards the end of the 1950’s, Von Wicht contract with the Passedoit Gallery ended and he moved to the Bertha Schaefer Gallery (She introduced the work sculptors Kenneth Armitage and Eduardo Chillida, championed the paintings of Marsden Hartley and Alfred Maurer and Bauhaus artists). His first European show was in held 1959 in Paris, with others following in Brussels, Liege, and Belgium. Select Solo Exhibitions 1924 Brooklyn Institute of Art and Science 1936 Architects Building, NYC 1939 Theodore A. Kohn & Son, NYC 1944 Artists’ Gallery, NYC 1947 University of California, Los Angeles 1950 Passedoit Gallery, NYC 1959 Galerie Internationale d’Art Contemporain, Paris, France Galerie Europe, Brussels, Belgium Association pour e Progrès Intel et Artistique de la Wallonie (APIAW), Liége Belgium Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles Santa Barbara Museum, Santa Barbara 1960 Galeria Mayer, Madrid, Spain 1960 The Bertha Schaefer Gallery, NYC (1962, 1964, 1966) 1962 Galerie Neufville, Paris 1964 Galerie Leonhard, Munich, Germany 1966 Joseph Grippi Gallery, NYC 1973 Oscar Krasner Gallery, NYC 1979 Marden Fine Arts, NYC 1989 Galerie Kaupa, Germany 1990 “Kunstverein March,” Germany 1992 Galerie Michael Rasche, Freiburg, Germany (2000) 1993 Gallery Berman-Daferner, NYC (1995) 1993 Susan Teller Gallery, NYC 1999 Kraushaar Gallery, NYC 2002 Ostholsteinisches Landesmuseum, Eutin, Germany Select Group Exhibitions 1940 Galerie St. Etienne, NYC 1941 Metropolitan Museum of Art 1945-48 Brooklyn Museum 1941 Whitney Museum of American Art Annuals and Biennial 1946 National Academy Galleries, NYC 1946 Kleeman Gallery, NYC Grand Central Art Galleries, Inc., NYC Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA Palais des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris, France New School for Social Research, NYC Museum of Modern Art National Arts Club, NYC Bertha Schaefer Gallery The Print Club, Philadelphia, PA Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. “The Second Wave: American Abstraction of the 1930s and 1940s,” Worcester Art Museum, MA “A Century of MacDowell Colony Artists,” The Currier Art Gallery, Manchester, NH Museu de Mallorca, Mallorca, Spain “The Stamp of Impulse: Abstract Expressionist Paintings,” Worcester Art Museum, MA He was a member of American Abstract Artists, Audubon Society of Artists, Brooklyn Society of Artists and Salons of America.”
  • Creator:
    John Von Wicht
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8.5 in (21.59 cm)Width: 5 in (12.7 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    good. minor wear. on fine paper. Please see photos.
  • Gallery Location:
    Surfside, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU38214901282

More From This Seller

View All
Abstract Pastel Crayon Drawing Color Abstract, Seasonal Letter John Von Wicht
Located in Surfside, FL
Provenance: Virginia Field, arts administrator; New York, N.Y. Assistant director for Asia House gallery. (she was friends with John von Wicht, Bernard Childs, John Ford and Andy War...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon, Oil Pastel

Abstract MIxed Media Drawing Vibrant Modernist Color Watercolor Painting
By John Wood
Located in Surfside, FL
John Wood (b. 1945, Utah) is a Bay Area artist who currently resides in Emeryville, CA. He received his BFA in painting from the University of Utah in 1971, and an MFA from the Cranb...
Category

20th Century Abstract Mixed Media

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

German Abstract Colorful Watercolor Painting Crayon Drawing Andreas Bindl
Located in Surfside, FL
German Abstract Watercolor and Crayon Painting by Andreas Bindl (1928) This is a signed watercolor and crayon abstract cubist landscape painting by artist Andreas Bindl (German, 1928-2010). Dated 1964. The mat is 21 3/4 x 15 3/4". The painting paper is 16 1/8 x 11 5/8" This needs a new mat. 1928 Grünthal/Rosenheim - 2010 Faistenhaar. Studium an der Münchner Kunstakademie, Meisterschüler bei Josef Henselmann, Präsident der Künstlervereinigung der Neuen Gruppe.Andreas Bindl is known for Painting and sculpture. Master student of Josef Henselmann (1898-1987). There are 15 related artists for Andreas Bindl : Peter Casagrande, Heinz Georg Adochi, Helge Leiberg, Bele Bachem, Lothar Fischer, Theodor Werner, Elvira Bach, Fred Thieler, Siegfried Anzinger, Jorg Immendorff, Rolf Cavael, Klaus Fussmann, Heinrich Zille, Herbert Zangs...
Category

1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Crayon, Watercolor

NYC School Abstract Expressionist Russian-American Painter Pastel Drawing
Located in Surfside, FL
Abstract Artwork (drawing or rubbing) laid on a New Years card. Provenance: Virginia Field, Arts administrator; New York, N.Y. Assistant director for Asia House gallery. (she was friends with John von Wicht, Ben Zion and Andy Warhol) During the summer of 1948 in the Cape Cod Massachusetts artists’ colony of Provincetown, Stillman’s experiments with such techniques led to a unique drawing process. Using an inkless pen, or some such tool, the artist impressed the paper with invisible scribbles, which only emerged as white lines when he rubbed a flat stick of charcoal or pastel across the surface. These evocative, subtly modulated, works on paper are sophisticated, yet little known, examples of Abstract Expressionist art. He imbued his abstractions with a glowing atmospheric quality that derives from both impressionism and the Old Testament concept of divine light. He subsequently adapted this technique to the graphic arts, experimenting in the early 1950s with color lithograph and woodcut print techniques. Ary...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Crayon, Pastel

Large Colorful Modernist Pastel Abstract Expressionist Painting Sylvia Carewe
Located in Surfside, FL
Framed 33 X 45.5 image is 29 X 41.5 Hand signed lower left Signed and titled verso Sylvia Carewe (1906-1981) was an American woman artist, painter, writer and poet. Born in New York City to Russian immigrant parents, Louis and Esther Kerewsky, she changed her surname to "Carewe" in 1930. Carewe attended Columbia University and studied further with Yasuo Kuniyoshi at Atelier 17 in New York, with Hans Hoffman in New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts, and at the New School for Social Research. During World War II Carewe worked as an advertising copywriter and artist for agencies in New York. She became a prolific abstract artist in a range of media, including tapestry designs for the Aubusson tapestry carpet company in France, felt banners, collage reliefs, and what she termed "blown paintings," which were assemblages (predominantly of children's toy components) overlaid with spray paint. One of the most common subjects in her semi abstract paintings was New York City at night. She also worked in traditional artistic media, including watercolors, oils, lithographs and pastels. In October 1944, she married Marvin Small (formerly Smalheiser, executive for Carter's Little Liver Pills). They had one child, John Marvin, in June 1947. Carewe had her first one-woman show in Poughkeepsie in 1947, after which she opened in New York City at the ACA Gallery in 1948. She had some twenty other American solo shows and her works hung in many exhibits across the United States as well as in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Her works are represented in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum, Musée de l'Arte Moderne, Paris, Brandeis University, the Butler Art Institute, Howard University, the Tel Aviv Museum and the National Museum in Djakarta, Indonesia. Her work has been described by French critics as "violent, colorful art, in hard contrasts, not exempt from cold lyricism." ["Les Girls...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel

David Kimball Anderson Large Oil Stick Pastel Abstract Flowers Drawing
By David Kimball Anderson
Located in Surfside, FL
Large bright vivid drawing done in oil crayon or oil pastel. Abstract floral drawing. David Kimball Anderson’s work is bold and graceful, respectful and spiritual. A practicing Bud...
Category

1970s Contemporary Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil Crayon, Oil Pastel

You May Also Like

Untitled-052 mixed media on paper by John Von Wicht
By John von Wicht
Located in Hudson, NY
This abstract artwork is one of a group of over 100 pieces personally selected by the artist, and gifted to a close personal friend in 1969. Please note that this painting was never ...
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

Untitled-059 mixed media on paper by John Von Wicht
By John von Wicht
Located in Hudson, NY
This abstract artwork is one of a group of over 100 pieces personally selected by the artist, and gifted to a close personal friend in 1969. Please note that this painting was never ...
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

Untitled-005 mixed media on paper by John Von Wicht
By John von Wicht
Located in Hudson, NY
This abstract artwork is one of a group of over 100 pieces personally selected by the artist, and gifted to a close personal friend in 1969. Please note this painting was never matte...
Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

Sunset Color Abstract Pastel Drawing on Paper
By Renelio Marin
Located in New York, NY
Renelio Marin is a visual artist with a diverse range of influences and styles. Born in Cuba, he received his graduate degree from the San Alejandro School of Fine Arts in Havana in ...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Oil Pastel, Pastel, Color Pencil

MAGIC CASEMENT, Abstract Non-Objective Mid-Century Pastel Color Field Drawing
Located in New York, NY
MAGIC CASEMENT, Abstract Non-Objective Mid-Century Pastel Color Field Drawing "Magic Casement" 16 x 20 ¾ inches Pastel on paper Initialed JD and dated February 22, 1967 lower left, Titled lower right The framed work measure 18 x 23 inches. Provenance: James Daugherty...
Category

1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Untitled-113 mixed media abstraction on paper by John Von Wicht
By John von Wicht
Located in Hudson, NY
One of a group of over 100 works personally selected by the artist and gifted to a close personal friend in 1969, this work was never matted, framed, glued, taped or exposed to light...
Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media