James Henry Daugherty

Abstraction

ca. 1965

This 40" x 40" oil on masonite panel by artist Marc Barker was painted in charcoal and sepia tones, and was created in an 'old world' grisaille style. "This monochromatic abstract harkens back to my collegiate studies, and as a graduate student teaching zoology with the hours spent staring into a microscope mystified by the primordial world just out of site, a bacterial/protozoan cloud chamber...

Andrene Kauffman (American, 1905-1993) Alter Ego. Surrealist circus or zoo scene with flying animals on an abstract color saturated background. Oil on masonite. Hand signed ANKAU lower left. Dimensions: 24 x 30”. Frame 25 ½ x 31 ½”. There is a address label verso from Louise Dunn Yochim She was a well-known artist from Chicago in her time. Louise Yochim was born Luba Dichne in Zhitomir, Russia in 1909. She immigrated to Chicago, along with her parents and four siblings in 1924. Yochim studied at the European Gymnasium and at the Art Institute of Chicago, receiving her Master’s Degree and Doctorate (1962) in Education from the University of Chicago. She was married to notable Chicago artist Maurice Yochim. Yochim exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Renaissance Society of the University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, the Union League Club, Chicago, IL, the University Club of Chicago, the Cleveland Museum of Art, among others, becoming one of the leading women artists in Chicago. Yochim published three books, the most notable being “Role and Impact: The Chicago Society of Artists”, included in the Illinois Women Artists Project. Camille Andrene Kauffman (1905 – 1993) was an American painter and educator who created a mural for the post office mural project in Ida Grove, Iowa. She completed twenty-five colorful murals and seven sculptures throughout Chicago, as part of the art projects for the New Deal's Section of Painting and Sculpture. Later, she completed seventeen ceramic murals for the 3rd Unitarian Church, which was designated as a Chicago Landmark in 1960. In addition to her artwork and exhibitions, Kaufman taught art for forty-one years at various universities in Chicago, Rockford, Illinois, and Valparaiso, Indiana. Her work bears the influence of Surrealism and Cubism. Camille Andrene Kauffmann was born on April 19, 1905, in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, to Charlotte Camille (née Henriksen) and George Francis Kauffman Kauffman came from an artistic family. Her father was a dress designer and her paternal grandfather, Francis Xavier Kauffman designed furniture. Her brother G. Francis would become a cartoonist and illustrator. She attended Austin Community Academy High School of Chicago before entering the Art Institute of Chicago, graduating in 1926 and winning the John Quincy Adams Fellowship from the Institute for a year of continued study abroad. In 1927, Kauffman went to Paris, where she studied with Andre Lhote and traveled throughout Europe, before returning in 1928 to take up a teaching post at Valparaiso University. Kauffman was hired as a professor of Painting and drawing at the Art Institute of Chicago upon her return and simultaneously worked instructing art at Valparaiso University. Both assignments were part time and in 1933, when she was approached by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), she joined the federal program. During her time with the WPA, Kauffman produced over 50 easel paintings, 25 murals and 7 sculpture projects earning $24.50 per week. Some of her first works for the WPA were murals painted for the Brookfield Zoo, which was under construction at the time. Between 1936 and 1940, Kauffman painted four murals for the cafeteria of the Emil G. Hirsch Metropolitan High School including Amusement Park, Circus, Rodeo, and Stock Show The murals were painted over with house paint, but the outlines of the canvases are visible on the walls and might be able to be restored In 1937, Kauffman painted Incidents in the Life of Luther Burbank for the Luther Burbank School. The following year, she completed a second mural at the school, Circus. The murals at Burbank were still extant in 2001. The playground houses at Oak Park, Illinois, contain Kaufman's bas relief sculptures depicting fairy tales. These included a cast stone relief based on Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen, at the Watts Playground on Hayes Avenue at Division Street; a stone sculpture titled The Cutting of the Cake based on Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass, for the Lincoln Playground at Kenilworth Avenue and Fillmore Street; and a cast stone work Captain Flint based on Robert Louis Stevenson's character at the Pyott Playground on Lake Street at Taylor Avenue. She painted murals at the Cook County Children's Hospital, but they were destroyed when the building was demolished, Kauffman created two bas reliefs for the Lincoln Elementary School in Evanston, Illinois. Children in Fruit Tree and Monkeys are intricate wood carvings with three-dimensional style. In addition, she completed commissions at the Washington School in Evanston and the Lowell School in Oak Park, as well as a mural for the Forest Park Public Library. In 1940, Kauffman won the federal commission to paint Preparation for the First County Fair in Ida Grove–1872 for the post office mural in Ida Grove, Iowa. Many great Chicago artists worked for the WPA including Rainey Bennett...