Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5
Michael LoewCubist Nude 371951
1951
About the Item
India Ink on paper; Provenance: Estate of artist, Vincent Vallarino Gallery
Lawrence Fine Art is pleased to present a suite of early, cubist-inspired nudes by first generation abstract expressionist painter Michael Loew, each different and together compelling. We like them as a suite of 4 or 6, but are willing to sell individually.
Like many of his peers--including de Kooning, Pollock, Rothko and others--Loew painted in a figurative style before the war and participated in the WPA mural project which gave otherwise unemployed artists jobs during the Great Depression. When he returned from WWII in 1946, his painting moved quickly toward abstraction. From 1947-1949, he studied post-Cubism at the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts. In 1948, he joined the Spiral Group, an organization of artists devoted to the exhibition of experimental art. The Artists Gallery in New York hosted his first one-man show in 1949.
Despite their opposing approaches to abstraction, Loew became a longtime friend of Willem de Kooning, whom he met completing WPA projects during the 1930s. Critic Rose C. S. Slivka observed, "They [de Kooning and Loew] generally agreed on most things, including the recognition that although each was on opposite sides of the coin, it was the same coin. 'Your work,' said Michael Loew to Willem de Kooning, 'is the lyrical grid.' 'And yours,' said Willem to Loew, 'is the song that breaks bars. I could learn plenty from you.'" ("Willem de Kooning," Art Journal, Fall 1989: pp. 219-221.)
Michael Loew was known for expressive abstract paintings that were based on the geometry and syntax of Neo-Plasticism. By enabling his boxes of color to float and by composing his grids with an increasing variety of rhythms and textures, he attempted to extend the achievement of Piet Mondrian in a more personal and lyrical direction.
Loew used the grid-structure of Mondrian as a base from which to experiment with the possibilities of the palette; to focus on subtle transitions of tone or harmony of color relationships. Drawing inspiration from life, he transformed subjects into unique patterns of rectangles or color fields, naming the final composition according to the dominant colors. He exhibited these works at the Stable Gallery Annuals, beginning a full and successful exhibition career.
In 1957, Loew participated in the International Assoc. of Plastic Arts Touring Exhibition, Contemporary American Painting as juror and exhibitor. Here he exhibited alongside Milton Avery, Samuel Adler, Josef Albers, de Kooning, Reinhardt, Walkowitz and others. The same year he gained representation at Zabriskie Gallery, next to Johns, Motherwell, and Rauschenberg. A recognized pillar of American Modernism, Loew maintained an active teaching and exhibition schedule until his death in 1985.
His work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art, Carnegie Institute, in Pittsburgh, among others.
- Creator:Michael Loew (1907-1985, American)
- Creation Year:1951
- Dimensions:Height: 8.75 in (22.23 cm)Width: 6 in (15.24 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Lawrence, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1497212920822
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 2011
1stDibs seller since 2021
22 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 3 hours
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lawrence, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Cubist Nude 52By Michael LoewLocated in Lawrence, NYIndia Ink on paper; Provenance: Estate of artist, Vincent Vallarino Gallery Lawrence Fine Art is pleased to present a suite of early, cubist-inspired nudes by first generation abst...Category
1950s Cubist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsIndia Ink
- Figure StudyBy Carl HoltyLocated in Lawrence, NYSigned, E Holty, (Elizabeth Holty, artist's widow) and inscribed, 1142, on verso of mount. Provenance; Private Collection, NY; Gary Snyder Fine Art, NY. ...Category
1940s Cubist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsIndia Ink
- Cubist Nude 80By Michael LoewLocated in Lawrence, NYIndia Ink on paper; Provenance: Estate of artist, Vincent Vallarino Gallery Lawrence Fine Art is pleased to present a suite of early, cubist-inspired nudes by first generation abst...Category
1950s Cubist Nude Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsIndia Ink
- Cubist Nude 43By Michael LoewLocated in Lawrence, NYIndia Ink on paper; Provenance: Estate of artist, Vincent Vallarino Gallery Lawrence Fine Art is pleased to present a suite of early, cubist-inspired nudes by first generation abst...Category
1950s Cubist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsIndia Ink
- Cubist Nude 62By Michael LoewLocated in Lawrence, NYIndia Ink on paper; Provenance: Estate of artist, Vincent Vallarino Gallery Lawrence Fine Art is pleased to present a suite of early, cubist-inspired nudes by first generation abst...Category
1950s Cubist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsIndia Ink
- Cubist Nude 112By Michael LoewLocated in Lawrence, NYIndia Ink on paper; Provenance: Estate of artist, Vincent Vallarino Gallery Lawrence Fine Art is pleased to present a suite of early, cubist-inspired nudes by first generation abst...Category
1950s Cubist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsIndia Ink
You May Also Like
- Color Block Abstract on PaperBy Michael William EgglestonLocated in Soquel, CABrightly colored abstract by Michael William Eggleston (American, 20th Century). Eggleston's use of various mediums and techniques show through...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cubist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Ink, Watercolor
- Cubist FigureBy Miette BraiveLocated in West Hollywood, CABelgian artist Miette Braive(1916-2000), was classically trained in Belgium, before moving to Paris to pursue her art career as first a student and then a contemporary of the French ...Category
1940s Cubist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
- Analytic SessionBy Ron BlumbergLocated in West Hollywood, CAAmerican artist Ron Blumberg was classically trained at La Grande Academie Chaumiere in Paris, 1932, before moving to New York where he became a National Academy artist and a member ...Category
1940s Cubist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsOil Pastel
- Cubist ReposeBy Miette BraiveLocated in West Hollywood, CABelgian artist Miette Braive(1916-2000), was classically trained in Belgium, before moving to Paris to pursue her art career as first a student and then a contemporary of the French ...Category
1940s Cubist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
- UntitledBy Edmund Daniel KinzingerLocated in Dallas, TXEdmund D. Kinzinger was born in 1888, to an upper-middle class family in Pforzhein, Germany. In Munich he studied at the Kirr Schule and the Staatliche Akademie, and pursued graduate studies at the Academie Modern, Paris. Before serving in the German Army, Kinzinger was a master student of Adolph Holzel at the Staatcliche Akademie, Stuttgart; he returned to study under Henrich Waldschmidt after nearly five years of artillery service. Several of Kinzinger’s fellow students in Germany, such as Johannes Itten, would go on to be associated with the Bauhaus school. Coming into contact with all manner of artistic influences in Europe after World War One, Kinzinger’s work may be viewed as a “synthesis” of modernist styles. The influences of Abstract Expressionist, Cubist, and Futurist styles in Kinzinger’s work at this time are symptomatic of his contact with the likes of Hans Hofmann, Pablo Picasso, and Alexander Archipenko. Philip Van Keuren...Category
1930s Cubist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsConté, Crayon, Paper
- Colorful Marketplace, Modernist Abstract Figurative Shakespeare festivalBy Doris Ann WarnerLocated in Soquel, CABright and colorful modernist market scene with abstracted figures on heavy bond paper by Doris Ann Warner (American, 1925-2010). Signed "WARNER" in the lower right corner. Presented in a new double mat of light blue and antique buff...Category
Late 20th Century Cubist Figurative Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsPaper, Watercolor, Gouache
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Pedro Zamora
C Jerome Clock
Denise Calle
Bartons Auctions
Poster Schlemmer
Delete History
Susan Teller Gallery
Balmain X H
Walter Bose
Vintage Sacred Heart Statue
Sculptor Whose Name Starts With A P
Straw Bonnet
Marcel Vertès On Sale
Russian Soviet Union And Cold War Propaganda Posters
Norman Blum
Cherry Pickers
Calder Ortf
Carel Fabritius