Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12

Vaclav Vytlacil
Abstract Cubist Construction Collage Mid 20th Century American Modernism Cubism

1936

$55,000
£41,773.86
€48,047.57
CA$76,845.78
A$85,691.74
CHF 44,710.30
MX$1,051,469.96
NOK 569,090.85
SEK 539,201.22
DKK 358,596.81
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Abstract Cubist Construction Collage Mid 20th Century American Modernism Cubism Vaclav Vytacil (1892 - 1984) Abstract Construction #2 Caesin on board collage 11 x 13 1/2 th inches Signed and dated 1936 Upper Right Titled verso Framed 17 3/4 x 20 1/2 inches Provenance, Labels verso: Michael Rosenfeld Gallery Modernism Fine Arts Barry Friedman ltd. Martin Diamond Fine Arts BIO Vaclav Vytlacil was born to Czechoslovakian parents in 1892 in New York City. Living in Chicago as a youth, he took classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, returning to New York when he was 20. From 1913 to 1916, he enjoyed a scholarship from the Art Students League, and worked with John C. Johansen (a portraitist whose expressive style resembled that of John Singer Sargent), and Anders Zorn. He accepted a teaching position at the Minneapolis School of Art in 1916, remaining there until 1921. This enabled him to travel to Europe to study Cézannes paintings and works of the Old Masters. He traveled to Paris, Prague, Dresden, Berlin, and Munich seeking the works of Titian, Cranach, Rembrandt, Veronese, and Holbein, which gave him new perspective. Vytlacil studied at the Royal Academy of Art in Munich, settling there in 1921. Fellow students were Ernest Thurn and Worth Ryder, who introduced him to famous abstractionist Hans Hofmann. He worked with Hofmann from about 1922 to 1926, as a student and teaching assistant. During the summer of 1928, after returning to the United States, Vytlacil gave lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, on modern European art. Soon thereafter, he became a member of the Art Students League faculty. After one year, he returned to Europe and successfully persuaded Hofmann to teach at the League as well. He spent about six years in Europe, studying the works of Matisse, Picasso, and Dufy. In 1935, he returned to New York and became a co-founder of the American Abstract Artists group in 1936. He later had teaching posts at Queens College in New York; the College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, California; Black Mountain College in North Carolina; and the Art Students League. His paintings exhibit a clear inclination toward modernism. His still lives and interiors from the 1920s indicate an understanding of the art of Cézanne. In the 1930s, his works displayed two very different kinds of art at the same time. His cityscapes and landscapes combine Cubist-inspired spatial concerns with an expressionistic approach to line and color. Vytlacil also used old wood, metal, cork, and string in constructions, influenced by his friend and former student, Rupert Turnbull. He eventually ceased creating constructions as he considered them too limiting. The spatial challenges of painting were still his preference. During the 1940s and 1950s, his works indicated a sense of spontaneity not felt in his earlier work. He married Elizabeth Foster in Florence, Italy, in 1927 and they lived and worked in Positano, Italy for extended periods of time. Later on, they divided their time between homes in Sparkill, New York and Chilmark, Massachusetts, where Vyt, as he was affectionately called, taught at the Martha's Vineyard Art Association beginning in 1941. He was associated with the Old Sculpin Group and often exhibited his works in its galleries on the island. He was honored with solo shows at The Carnegie Institute, Montclair Art Museum, Phillips Memorial Gallery, Krasner Gallery, University of Notre Dame, Rochester Art Gallery, and others. Vytlacil's works are included in collections at the Art Students League in New York City; the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center; the Dalton School in New York; the University of Notre Dame Art Gallery in South Bend, Indiana; the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City. Vaclav Vytlacil died in 1984, at age 92.
  • Creator:
    Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1936
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 18 in (45.72 cm)Width: 21 in (53.34 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1156214152432

More From This Seller

View All
"Abstraction" Mid-20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field Modernist
Located in New York, NY
"Abstraction" Mid-20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field Modernist James Daugherty (1887 – 1974) "Abstraction" 58 ¼ x 41 ¾ inches Signed and dated 1957 lower left Oil on...
Category

1950s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

"Abstraction" Mid-20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field Modernist
Located in New York, NY
"Abstraction" Mid-20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field Modernist James Daugherty (1887 – 1974) Abstraction with White Border 16 x 12 inches Estate stamp verso Oil on p...
Category

1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Geometric Abstract American Oil WPA Color Field Abstraction Modern Non Objective
By Walter Quirt
Located in New York, NY
American artist Walter Quirt painted this modernist non objective geometric abstract oil color field during the WPA era in the 1930s. Abstraction, 12 x 16 inches. Oil on canvas. Sig...
Category

1930s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Abstraction" Mid 20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field
Located in New York, NY
"Abstraction" Mid 20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field James Daugherty (1887 – 1974) Abstraction 6 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches Estate stamp verso Oil on panel Provenance: Estat...
Category

1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

"Abstraction" Mid 20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field
Located in New York, NY
"Abstraction" Mid 20th Century American Abstract 1960s Color Field James Daugherty (1887 – 1974) Abstraction 16 x 12 inches Estate stamp verso Oil on panel Provenance: Estate of t...
Category

1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Panel

Abstract Mid 20th Century WPA Non Objective American Modernism New Hope Modern
By Louis Stone
Located in New York, NY
Abstract Mid 20th Century WPA Non Objective American Modernism New Hope Modern.mixed media. 21 x 16 (sight). Housed in a hand carved frame. Louis King Stone ...
Category

1940s American Modern Mixed Media

Materials

Gouache, Board

You May Also Like

CLAUDE LAGOUCHE (1943-2020) ORIGNAL 1970'S FRENCH CUBIST ABSTRACT COLLAGE WORK
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Artist: Claude Lagouche (French 1943-2020) Claude Lagouche was born January 2, 1943 in Naves, died January 16, 2020. He quickly gained recognition for his talent and his work, exh...
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paint

Modern Abstract Painting Cubist style
Located in Queens, NY
Copy of Modern Abstract oil painting consisting of black ground with with red,white, yellow and blue collage in a Cubist style Condition: Good; Wear consistent with age and use
Category

Late 20th Century American Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Antique American Abstract Cubist Mid Century Framed Composition Signed Geist
Located in Buffalo, NY
Modernist abstract composition signed Geist. Oil on board, circa 1950. Signed lower right. Displayed in a wood frame. Image size, 7"L x 10"H, overall 15"L x 17"H.
Category

1950s Cubist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique American School Modernist Abstract Cubist Framed Mid Century Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted mid century abstract cubist oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed. Signed.
Category

1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Mid Century Modernist NYC Cubist Abstract Large Framed Exhibited Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American abstract cubist composition "Terra Firma Theme 10" by Augustus Goertz (Born 1948) . Oil on canvas, circa 1958. Housed in a period gi...
Category

1950s Cubist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Antique American School Modernist Abstract Cubist Framed Mid Century Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted mid century abstract cubist oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed.
Category

1960s Cubist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil