Richard Van Wingerden

Expressionist Bay Area Landscape in Watercolor, Mid Century

Circa 1950

Watercolor on paper

Watercolor on paper

Watercolor on paper

Watercolor on paper

Watercolor on paper

Abstract harbor scene with boats, in bold, vivid colors on heavy mould made paper. Hand signed and dated, 1980 22 X 30 not frame Robert Freiman, deaf from birth, was born in March 1917 in New York City. He attended an oral program near his home and later transferred to the Lexington School for the Deaf when he was six. Early in his childhood, his love for drawing, painting and studying became apparent, and as an adult, he continued his studies in New York at the National Academy of Design, Pratt Institute, the Art Students League and the Parsons School of Design. In Paris, France he studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Bob Freiman was especially focused on painting portraits and figures in motion in various mediums, especially the mixed-media combination of watercolor, acrylic and pen. Among his subjects were acrobats, ballet dancers, cyclists and other athletes. He as well focused on abstracts for a time, discovering new media in his works with quick brushwork and expressive movements. In the latter part of his career, his style became abstract and surreal with images of metaphysical landscapes with architectural elements such as arches, towers, pyramids and castles floating in the air. The famed art critic Pierre Rouve wrote: “It is therefore refreshing to see them revitalized by the colourist wealth and virile handwriting of Robert Freiman, probably the best American water-colorist since John Marin. He worked in Provincetown and Nantucket and regularly exhibited there. He showed at Doll & Richards gallery of Boston alongside John Chetcuti, Lloyd Goodrich, Tod Lindenmuth, William Meyerowitz, Dwight Shepler, Elizabeth O'Neill Verner, Stanley Woodward, Andrew Wyeth, and others. His work bears the influence of the mid century school of Paris in particular Jean Carzou. He was a regular exhibitor at the Sidewalk Art...