Lily Harmon

“Woman with Rose” Lily Harmon, Female American Modernism Mid-century

Diana Kurz Thelo #5, circa 1959 Oil on canvas 22 x 20 inches Diana Kurz (born 1936) is an Austrian-born feminist painter. In 1938, Diana Kurz's family fled Austria, first to Englan...

Gerome Kamrowski Pink Garden, 1947 Signed lower left Watercolor on paper 22 x 30 inches Gerome Kamrowski was born in Warren, Minnesota, on January 19, 1914. In 1932 he enrolled in ...

Albert Heckman Untitled, circa 1950 Signed lower right Oil on canvas 21 1/4 x 29 inches Albert Heckman was born in Meadville, Western Pennsylvania, 1893. He went to New York City to try his hand at the art world in 1915 after graduating from high school and landing a job at the Meadville Post Office. In 1917, at the age of 24, Heckman enrolled part-time in Teachers' College, Columbia University's Fine Arts Department to begin his formal art education. He worked as a freelance ceramic and textile designer and occasionally as a lecturer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the early 1920s, at the age of almost 30, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia Teachers College. He was especially impacted by his instructor at Columbia, Arthur Wesley Dow. After graduating, he was hired by the Teachers' College as a Fine Arts instructor. He stayed with Columbia Teachers' College until 1929, when he left to attend the Leipzig Institute of Graphic Arts in Leipzig, Germany. Isami Doi (1903-1965), who was born in Hawaii, was arguably his most impressive student at Columbia. Doi is now regarded as one of the most prominent artists hailing from Hawaii. Heckman became an active member and officer of the Keramic Society and Design Guild of New York in the 1920s as part of his early commercial art career. The Society's mission was to share knowledge and showcase textile and ceramic design exhibits. In 1922, Heckman married Florence Hardman, a concert violinist. Mrs. Heckman's concert schedule during the 1920s kept Albert and Florence Heckman apart for a significant portion of the time, but they spent what little time they had together designing and building their Woodstock, New York, summer house and grounds. A small house and an acre of surrounding land on Overlook Mountain, just behind the village of Woodstock, were purchased by Albert and Florence Heckman at the time of their marriage. Their Woodstock home, with its connections, friendships, and memories, became a central part of their lives over the years, even though they had an apartment in New York City. Heckman's main artistic focus shifted to the house on Overlook Mountain and the nearby towns and villages, Kingston, Eddyville, and Glasco. After returning from the Leipzig Institute of Graphic Arts in 1930, Mr. Heckman joined Hunter College as an assistant professor of art. He worked there for almost thirty years, retiring in 1956. Throughout his tenure at Hunter, Mr. Heckman and his spouse spent the summers at their Woodstock residence and the winters in New York City. They were regular and well-known guests at the opera and art galleries in New York. Following his retirement in 1956, the Heckmans settled in Woodstock permanently, with occasional trips to Florida or Europe during the fall and winter. Mr. Heckman's close friends and artistic career were always connected to Woodstock or New York City. He joined the Woodstock art group early on and was greatly influenced by artists like Paul and Caroline Rohland, Emil Ganso, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Andre Ruellan, and her husband, Jack Taylor. Heckman operated a summer art school in Woodstock for several years in the 1930s with support from Columbia University, where these and other Woodstock artists gave guest lectures. The Potter's Shop in New York City hosted Mr. Heckman's first art show in December 1928. The exhibit received some positive reviews from critics. The American Institute of Graphic Arts chose the plate of "Wehlen, Saxony" as one of the "Fifty Prints of the Year in 1929." There were sixteen etchings displayed. The remaining plates depicted scenes in Saxony, Germany, while five of the plates were based on scenes in Rondout, New York. Heckman started switching from etching to black and white lithography by the early 1930s. A lifelong admirer of Heckman's artwork, Mr. Gustave von Groschwitz organized a significant exhibition of Heckman etchings and lithographs at the Ferargil Gallery in New York City in 1933. The exhibition traveled to the Stendahl Galleries in Los Angeles (May 1933), the Charles Lessler Gallery in Philadelphia (May 1933), J.L. Hudson in Detroit (June 1933), and Gumps in San Francisco (July 1933). Together with his early etchings, the exhibition featured brand-new black and white lithographs depicting scenes in and around Woodstock as well as "A View from Tudor City...

Betty Parsons Untitled, 1977 Signed and dated lower right Gouache on paper 5 1/2 x 3 3/4 inches Renowned as an esteemed and legendary art dealer who for more than three decades was...

Bryon Browne was an important American modernist painter. Signed upper right; signed, dated and situated 'New York' on reverse

A beautiful mid century modernist take on Madonna and child by Dorothy Steck Beech of Carmel, California (American, 1915-2002). Signed "D.S. Beech" lower right. Displayed in a rusti...

Expressive Mid-Century figural painting of two women and child in pastel hues by Harold Kitner (American, 1921 - 2004). Image, 33"H x 48"W Walnut frame, 34"H x 49"W x 2"D Harold Kitner was born on May 18, 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio and was the son of Isaac and Frieda Kitner. He obtained his MA from Case Western Reserve University in 1947. Kitner was a postgraduate from Cleveland Institute, Ohio University, Cleveland College, Washington and Lee University. He obtained his Doctorate from Kent State University. Exhibition: Harold Kitner - Active / Figure / Exaltation at Kent State School of Art Gallery in Kent, Ohio in 2014. Harold Kitner taught for over 30 years at the Kent State University School of Art. Harold Kitner began teaching art and art history at Kent State University in 1947. During his career, he served as Director and Chairman of the Fine Arts Division. Kitner played a significant role in creating the Art School’s core program, organizing the Kent State Arts Festival, and the Blossom Festival School. He also served as President of the Kent chapter of the American Association of University Professors, and was an art critic for the Akron Beacon Journal. In 1967, Kitner became Kent State University’s first Faculty Ombudsman, officially titled Dean for Faculty Counsel. He held this position until 1974. At the time of the Kent State shootings, Kitner’s position as Ombudsman meant that he was involved in many of the decisions regarding University administration in the weeks and months following the Kent State shootings. Kitner began a partial retirement in 1980, and left Kent to become the director of the Institute of the South Florida Art...

Signed lower right, in graphite, 'Sue Gertz' for Suzanne Gertz (American, 1938-2003) and painted circa 1975. Suzanne Gertz first studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and, subsequ...