Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7

Vaclav Vytlacil
"Fish Cleaners"

1949

$170,000
£127,197.40
€147,622.70
CA$236,704.01
A$266,239.57
CHF 138,092.64
MX$3,229,679.91
NOK 1,750,933.03
SEK 1,647,726.04
DKK 1,101,307.44
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Signed & Dated LR (Highly exhibited) The New York Times, Sunday October 30, 1949 by Howard Devree. "Both as teacher and as painter Vaclav Vytlacil has been a decided force in contemporary American painting. ........ Vytlacil's color is brilliant but well controlled, with deep rich blues and yellow-greens of stained glass intensity. Areas are convincingly broken up in form and color in his sturdy abstract overall designs. In 'Fish Cleaners' he has brought Cubism up to date, here as in all his work, keeping a firm hand on representational form. .... among the most stimulating work being done in this country today." Vaclav Vytlacil (Vas-lav Vit-la-chil) was born in New York City in 1892 to Czech parents, but was raised in Chicago. He was an artist since boyhood, becoming the youngest student to enroll in the Art Institute of Chicago in 1906. There he earned a scholarship to The Art Students League in New York in 1913. He studied at the League for three years under John C. Johansen and Anders Zorn. In 1916, Vytlacil accepted an invitation to teach at the Minneapolis School of Art where he remained for four years. At the age of 29, and at the crossroads in his painting career, Vyt (a name affectionately given) decided it was time for “the European experience” It was believed by most artists at the time that Europe offered many more superior values in art, and with a strong desire to investigate the art of Cezanne, Vyt left the US for Europe in 1922. He headed to Paris where he befriended fellow painters and had his eyes opened to a whole new world of art. In Vyt’s words, “Many shattering experiences brought home to me that I knew practically nothing about painting. Or in other words, what I did know, did not amount to much!” He next went to Munich where along with new found American artist friends, Worth Ryder and Ernest Thurn, Vyt studied under (relatively unknown teacher and artist at the time) Hans Hoffman. Now Modernism was the focus of Vyt’s art, quite a change from his previous more academic teachings. The traditions being exercised by Picasso, Braque, and Cezanne among other French Modernists were greatly influenced through Hofmann’s tutelage. Vyt continued to travel and paint throughout Europe, Mexico, Jamaica, Monhegan, Martha’s Vineyard, California, Colorado and New York. In the 1950s, abstract expressionists like De Kooning and Pollock reverted to figural representations of women. Vaclav Vytlacil did as well, however his figures suggested more similarities to Picasso who also shared the more representational classical elements as opposed to pure abstraction
  • Creator:
    Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1949
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 60 in (152.4 cm)Width: 44 in (111.76 cm)Depth: 4 in (10.16 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Lambertville, NJ
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 1651stDibs: G13022315743

More From This Seller

View All
"Figure Composition"
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Signed Lower Right Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He 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 Cézanne’s 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...
Category

1940s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

"Classic Maiden"
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Signed & Dated LR Vaclav Vytlacil (Vas-lav Vit-la-chil) was born in New York City in 1892 to Czech parents, but was raised in Chicago. He was an artist since boyhood, becoming the y...
Category

20th Century Abstract Portrait Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Circus Act"
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He 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 ...
Category

20th Century Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

"Vineyard Fishing Boat"
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Signed and Dated Lower Right Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He was born to Czechoslovakian parents in 1892 in New York City. Living in Chicago as a youth, he took classes at the ...
Category

1950s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Board, Oil

"Still Life with Fish"
By Mercedes Matter
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Estate Stamp on Verso Mercedes Matter, daughter of noted Philidelphia artist Arthur B Carles, wife of swiss born photographer and graphic designer Her...
Category

20th Century Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Modern Industry"
By Joseph Meierhans
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Signed lower right
Category

1940s Abstract Paintings

Materials

Masonite, Oil

You May Also Like

"Fishing Through the Storm"
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Mixed media on board; Signed lower right and dated 1961 Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Vaclav Vytlacil (Vas-lav Vit-la-chil) was born in New York City in ...
Category

1960s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media

"Blue Fish"
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He 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 Cézanne’s 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...
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"After Work"
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork. Signed lower right Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He was born to Czechoslovakian parents in 1892 in New York City. Living in C...
Category

20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

"Rough Seas"
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Signed and dated 1958 lower right. Vaclav Vytlacil (1892-1984) He 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 Cézanne’s 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...
Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Board

Untitled Abstraction-008 casein tempera on board by Vaclav Vytlacil
By Vaclav Vytlacil
Located in Hudson, NY
Signed and dated "Vytlacil 38" lower left, and signed and dated verso. Provenance: Estate of the artist #1602; Martin Diamond Fine Art About this artist: Born in 1892 to Czechoslov...
Category

1930s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Tempera, Casein, Board

"Intelligent conversation"
Located in Edinburgh, GB
Anatoly Kost "Intelligent conversation" 2014 y. Canvas.Oil. Painting Flat: 55/50 cm Framed: 59/54 cm This picture is a transformation of music on canvas, so it is accompanied and b...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil