Robert Beauchamp

American Neo Expressionist Woman with Camels Abstract Modernist Oil Painting

Robert Beauchamp (1923 – March 1995) was an American figurative painter and arts educator. Beauchamp's paintings and drawings are known for depicting dramatic creatures and figures with expressionistic colors. His work was described in the New York Times as being "both frightening and amusing,". He was a Guggenheim Fellow and a student of Hans Hofmann. Robert Beauchamp was born in Denver, Colorado in 1923. He had three brothers and three sisters, and the children were orphaned by both parents by the time Beauchamp was three. The family grew up impoverished due to the Great Depression, living in a community house with other families. As a child he dabbled in art but it wasn't until high school that he began taking art classes. When not creating art he also played sports; football and basketball, and enjoyed chemistry and geology. He was told he was good at drawing, and replaced study hall classes with art classes, receiving instruction and inspiration from a Welsh teacher named R. Idris Thomas. While in high school Beauchamp would go, every Monday, to the public library and a local museum where he would read books about art; specifically French painting, as assigned by Thomas. Beauchamp absorbed the tenets of European Modernism and American Abstract Expressionism—with which he eventually broke. While abstraction, with its focus on color and form, underlies his compositions, he filled canvas and paper with psychologically acute portraits of himself and others, nudes, animals, and objects of all kinds. Beauchamp would spend upwards of four hours a day in the art room and eventually won the Carter Memorial Prize, which provided a scholarship to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. At Colorado Springs he studied under Boardman Robinson, painting landscapes in nature. Beauchamp eventually joined the Navy and then returned to Colorado Springs to continue his studies. Traveling the world as an Armed Guard, he spent a year and a half at sea and the rest of the three years in San Francisco. Seeking to make money, and to follow his love for a girl, Beauchamp decided to attend Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1947–1948. There he studied pottery, believing one could "make more money selling pots than you could selling paintings." He described his experience at Cranbrook as intimidating and claustrophobic, and eventually switched to sculpture before switching to painting. Beauchamp moved to New York City in the early 1950s and was involved in the Tenth Street galleries, which provided outlets for more experimental artists and the second generation of abstract expressionists. Despite his involvement with 10th Street and friendships with abstract artists, abstract art never interested in him. He showed at numerous galleries in New York and Provincetown, socializing with gallery owners, artists and collectors. His first exhibition was at the Tanager Gallery in New York, he also showed during the 1950s at the Hansa Gallery. In New York and Provincetown he studied under Hans Hofmann Eventually he felt that abstract expressionism became dull and stalemated. During the 1960s he showed at the Green Gallery. C. 1960 he was awarded a Fulbright Award allowing him to travel to La Romola, Italy. He traveled frequently to cities such as Rome and worked constantly. Beauchamp returned to the states and lived in Provincetown at Walter Gutman's house, who awarded Beauchamp a grant. That year he met his future wife, Nadine Valenti, whom he married in 1967. Beauchamp taught at a variety of schools during his lifetime including Brooklyn College, School of Visual Arts, Cooper Union and the Art Students League of New York during the last fifteen years of his life. Beauchamp described his drawings as painterly, seeking the spontaneity in an image. He would develop a drawing then a painting, and vice versa. His heavily impastoed paintings, often described as sculptures themselves, came from the pouring of paint from a can, with little planning and constant evolution in the medium upon the canvas. He preferred little planning to his creations, believing that an artists work would become stale and repetitive with constant planning. He also created large scale works, at times 70 inches long. Beauchamp had little intention of ever selling his large works, preferring to create them due to the slow and intense experience he received from the process. The large drawings he created on the floor, and the smaller works were created on a table. Paintings were created on either the floor or wall and he described his painting process as "splattering", "pushing the paint around," and sponging. Animals often appear in his paintings, despite a dislike for domestic animals outside of his artistic creations. He called the characters in his paintings as Beauchamps. Some Beauchamps hold meaning, with Beauchamp rarely sharing the meaning behind the symbols and characters. He made up the creatures himself, seeking to emphasize the character of each. In 2006 the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Visual & Performing Arts hosted an exhibition of Beauchamp's pieces from the 1960s, curators stated that Beauchamp's work: "effortlessly blends innovative style elements with narrative, descriptive images. One senses equal enjoyment in the manipulation of, and interaction with, color and paint, and the often sudden and unexpected presence of a wasp or a lump of sugar." included in the important exhibit "Twelve New York Painters." New York: David Findlay Jr. Fine Art with Mary Abbott, Alcopley, Robert Beauchamp, Byron Browne, Charles Cajori, Jim Forsberg, Carl Heidenreich, Angelo Ippolito, Emily Mason, Robert Natkin, Robert Richenburg and Nina Tryggvadottir...

Hand signed lower right, titled verso. Blue Woman with Seated Camels MIxed media oil painting on heavy art paper Robert Beauchamp (1923 – March 1995) was an American figurative painter and arts educator. Beauchamp's paintings and drawings are known for depicting dramatic creatures and figures with expressionistic colors. His work was described in the New York Times as being "both frightening and amusing,". He was a Guggenheim Fellow and a student of Hans Hofmann. Robert Beauchamp was born in Denver, Colorado in 1923. He had three brothers and three sisters, and the children were orphaned by both parents by the time Beauchamp was three. The family grew up impoverished due to the Great Depression, living in a community house with other families. As a child he dabbled in art but it wasn't until high school that he began taking art classes. When not creating art he also played sports; football and basketball, and enjoyed chemistry and geology. He was told he was good at drawing, and replaced study hall classes with art classes, receiving instruction and inspiration from a Welsh teacher named R. Idris Thomas. While in high school Beauchamp would go, every Monday, to the public library and a local museum where he would read books about art...

Signed lower left. Robert Beauchamp (1923 – March 1995) was an American figurative painter and arts educator. Beauchamp's paintings and drawings are known for depicting dramatic creatures and figures with expressionistic colors. His work was described in the New York Times as being "both frightening and amusing,". He was a Guggenheim Fellow and a student of Hans Hofmann. Robert Beauchamp was born in Denver, Colorado in 1923. He had three brothers and three sisters, and the children were orphaned by both parents by the time Beauchamp was three. The family grew up impoverished due to the Great Depression, living in a community house with other families. As a child he dabbled in art but it wasn't until high school that he began taking art classes. When not creating art he also played sports; football and basketball, and enjoyed chemistry and geology. He was told he was good at drawing, and replaced study hall classes with art classes, receiving instruction and inspiration from a Welsh teacher named R. Idris Thomas. While in high school Beauchamp would go, every Monday, to the public library and a local museum where he would read books about art; specifically French painting, as assigned by Thomas. Beauchamp absorbed the tenets of European Modernism and American Abstract Expressionism—with which he eventually broke. While abstraction, with its focus on color and form, underlies his compositions, he filled canvas and paper with psychologically acute portraits of himself and others, nudes, animals, and objects of all kinds. Beauchamp would spend upwards of four hours a day in the art room and eventually won the Carter Memorial Prize, which provided a scholarship to the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. At Colorado Springs he studied under Boardman Robinson, painting landscapes in nature. Beauchamp eventually joined the Navy and then returned to Colorado Springs to continue his studies. Traveling the world as an Armed Guard, he spent a year and a half at sea and the rest of the three years in San Francisco. Seeking to make money, and to follow his love for a girl, Beauchamp decided to attend Cranbrook Academy of Art from 1947–1948. There he studied pottery, believing one could "make more money selling pots than you could selling paintings." He described his experience at Cranbrook as intimidating and claustrophobic, and eventually switched to sculpture before switching to painting. Beauchamp moved to New York City in the early 1950s and was involved in the Tenth Street galleries, which provided outlets for more experimental artists and the second generation of abstract expressionists. Despite his involvement with 10th Street and friendships with abstract artists, abstract art never interested in him. He showed at numerous galleries in New York and Provincetown, socializing with gallery owners, artists and collectors. His first exhibition was at the Tanager Gallery in New York, he also showed during the 1950s at the Hansa Gallery. In New York and Provincetown he studied under Hans Hofmann Eventually he felt that abstract expressionism became dull and stalemated. During the 1960s he showed at the Green Gallery. C. 1960 he was awarded a Fulbright Award allowing him to travel to La Romola, Italy. He traveled frequently to cities such as Rome and worked constantly. Beauchamp returned to the states and lived in Provincetown at Walter Gutman's house, who awarded Beauchamp a grant. That year he met his future wife, Nadine Valenti, whom he married in 1967. Beauchamp taught at a variety of schools during his lifetime including Brooklyn College, School of Visual Arts, Cooper Union and the Art Students League of New York during the last fifteen years of his life. Beauchamp described his drawings as painterly, seeking the spontaneity in an image. He would develop a drawing then a painting, and vice versa. His heavily impastoed paintings, often described as sculptures themselves, came from the pouring of paint from a can, with little planning and constant evolution in the medium upon the canvas. He preferred little planning to his creations, believing that an artists work would become stale and repetitive with constant planning. He also created large scale works, at times 70 inches long. Beauchamp had little intention of ever selling his large works, preferring to create them due to the slow and intense experience he received from the process. The large drawings he created on the floor, and the smaller works were created on a table. Paintings were created on either the floor or wall and he described his painting process as "splattering", "pushing the paint around," and sponging. Animals often appear in his paintings, despite a dislike for domestic animals outside of his artistic creations. He called the characters in his paintings as Beauchamps. Some Beauchamps hold meaning, with Beauchamp rarely sharing the meaning behind the symbols and characters. He made up the creatures himself, seeking to emphasize the character of each. In 2006 the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Visual & Performing Arts hosted an exhibition of Beauchamp's pieces from the 1960s, curators stated that Beauchamp's work: "effortlessly blends innovative style elements with narrative, descriptive images. One senses equal enjoyment in the manipulation of, and interaction with, color and paint, and the often sudden and unexpected presence of a wasp or a lump of sugar." included in the important exhibit "Twelve New York Painters." New York: David Findlay Jr. Fine Art with Mary Abbott, Alcopley, Robert Beauchamp, Byron Browne, Charles Cajori, Jim Forsberg, Carl Heidenreich, Angelo Ippolito, Emily Mason, Robert Natkin, Robert Richenburg and Nina Tryggvadottir...

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...

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