Maurice Kish

The Happy Inlaw, Oil Painting

1975

This portrait of a clown by Maurice Kish is part from a series of carnival figures, circus clowns and carousel horses and riders that he did in the 30s and 40s. The artist uses a vibrant color palette and controlled brushstrokes to depict the subject in a realistic way. The imagery of Maurice Kish (1895-1987), whether factories or carousels, reliably subverts expectations. His vision hovers just around the unraveling edge of things, where what is solid and clear becomes ambiguous. He is fascinated, often delighted, by the falling apart. This unexpected, fresh perspective results in oddly affecting pictures of a now long-gone New York. Born Moishe in a town called Dvinsk, Russia (what is now Daugavpils, Latvia), Kish came with his family to New York when he was in his teens. The family settled in Brownsville, and for the rest of Kish’s life Brooklyn remained his home, though he moved from one neighborhood to another. He was close to his parents, who recognized his talent and supported his desire to become an artist. Kish attended the National Academy of Design as well as Cooper Union. His fellow students included many other immigrants and children of immigrants who were particularly receptive to the Modernism coming from Europe. As his career progressed, Kish himself applied different strains of Modernism to different purposes. For him, the story was held above all else. For years, Kish used the skills he acquired in art school to earn his living at a Manhattan glass...

The imagery of Maurice Kish (1895-1987), whether factories or carousels, reliably subverts expectations. His vision hovers just around the unraveling edge of things, where what is solid and clear becomes ambiguous. He is fascinated, often delighted, by the falling apart. This unexpected, fresh perspective results in oddly affecting pictures of a now long-gone New York. Born Moishe in a town called Dvinsk, Russia (what is now Daugavpils, Latvia), Kish came with his family to New York when he was in his teens. The family settled in Brownsville, and for the rest of Kish’s life Brooklyn remained his home, though he moved from one neighborhood to another. He was close to his parents, who recognized his talent and supported his desire to become an artist. Kish attended the National Academy of Design as well as Cooper Union. His fellow students included many other immigrants and children of immigrants who were particularly receptive to the Modernism coming from Europe. As his career progressed, Kish himself applied different strains of Modernism to different purposes. For him, the story was held above all else. For years, Kish used the skills he acquired in art school to earn his living at a Manhattan glass...

This portrait of a clown by Maurice Kish is part from a series of carnival figures, circus clowns and carousel horses and riders that he did in the 30s and 40s. The artist uses a vib...

Genre: Other Subject: People Medium: Oil Surface: Canvas Dimensions: 35" x 16.5 Dimensions w/Frame: 35.5" x 17.25 This depicts a Jazz or Klezmer musician. This one is a banjo or guitar player. The last photo shows it in a group of three that I have available. This listing is for the one painting. The artist Jovan Obican iconic style is child-like yet masterfully adult; a style that tells a story with sociological overtones. His funny little people are always colorful, full of spirit, living with music and birds to bring them happiness. JOVAN OBICAN Cannes, France, b. 1918, d. 1986 Jovan Obican (1918-1986) artist, painter, sculpture and mosaic ceramic artisan was born in Cannes, France, to his Yugoslavian parents. From childhood on, Jovan practically devoted himself to art, scratching designs into the dirt when paper was unavailable. He trained with many recognized teachers and with many styles. He finished his training, imbued with the spirit of his native country, the people, their legends, and their philosophy. It has been said that his work has a "timeless quality" and a naive, folk art, outsider art brut quality, child-like primitive style. Obican is identified with his style the world over, a style that is simple yet sophisticated; child-like yet masterfully adult; a style that tells a story with psychological, philosophical or sociological overtones. His funny little people are always colorful, full of spirit, living with music and birds to bring them happiness. Best known for his depictions of folklore and traditional costumes rendered in a playful, childlike style and for his happy Jewish wedding scenes. He often used bright colors and black outlines in his renderings of figures and animals, giving his work an illustration-like quality. Thematically, the artist’s work is similar to Marc Chagall and Jean Dubuffet for its dreamlike images and so-called naïve style of painting. Over the course of his career, the artist maintained a studio in Boca Raton, Florida and Dubrovnik, Croatia—part of former Yugoslavia— where he developed an interest in Eastern Europe’s Jewish culture. Many of his mature works depict Jewish traditions and ceremonies, including traditional Jewish weddings, the dancing of the Hora, and traditional music. There is a display of his works in his former Dubrovnik studio. His style is a unique conglomerate of tradition, history, legends, heroes, old customs and folklore. It is a self-standing style, recognizable, cheerful, whimsical and a happy creation. Naïve art is any form of visual art that is created by a person who lacks the formal education and training that a professional artist undergoes (in anatomy, art history, technique, perspective, ways of seeing). Unlike folk art, naïve art does not necessarily evince a distinct cultural context or tradition. Naïve art is recognized, and often imitated, for its childlike simplicity and frankness. Paintings of this kind typically have a flat rendering style with a rudimentary expression of perspective. One particularly influential painter of "naïve art" was Henri Rousseau (1844–1910), a French Post-Impressionist who was discovered by Pablo Picasso. Naïve art is often seen as outsider art that is by someone without formal (or little) training or degree. While this was true before the twentieth century, there are now academies for naïve art. Naïve art is now a fully recognized art genre, represented in art galleries worldwide. Museums devoted to naïve art now exist in Kecskemét, Hungary; Riga, Latvia; Jaen, Spain; Rio de Janeiro, Brasil; Vicq France and Paris. "Primitive art" is another term often applied to art by those without formal training, but is historically more often applied to work from certain cultures that have been judged socially or technologically "primitive" by Western academia, such as Native American, sub saharan African or Pacific Island art (see Tribal art). This is distinguished from the self-conscious, "primitive" inspired movement primitivism. Another term related to (but not completely synonymous with) naïve art is folk art. There also exist the terms "naïvism" and "primitivism" which are usually applied to professional painters working in the style of naïve art (like Paul Gauguin, Mikhail Larionov, Paul Klee). At all events, naive art can be regarded as having occupied an "official" position in the annals of twentieth-century art since - at the very latest - the publication of the Der Blaue Reiter, an almanac in 1912. Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc, who brought out the almanac, presented 6 reproductions of paintings by le Douanier' Rousseau (Henri Rousseau), comparing them with other pictorial examples. However, most experts agree that the year that naive art was "discovered" was 1885, when the painter Paul Signac became aware of the talents of Henri Rousseau and set about organizing exhibitions of his work in a number of prestigious galleries. The Earth Group (Grupa Zemlja) were Croatian artists, architects and intellectuals active in Zagreb from 1929 to 1935. The group included the painters Krsto Hegedušić, Edo Kovačević, Omer Mujadžić, Kamilo Ružička, Ivan Tabaković, and Oton Postružnik, the sculptors Antun Augustinčić, Frano Kršinić, and the architect Drago Ibler. A term applied to Yugoslav (Croatian) naive painters working in or around the village of Hlebine, near the Hungarian border, from about 1930. Some of the best known naive artists are Dragan Gaži, Ivan Generalić, Josip Generalić, Krsto Hegedušić, Mijo Kovačić, Ivan Lacković-Croata, Franjo Mraz, Ivan Večenaj and Mirko Virius. Camille Bombois (1883–1970) Ferdinand Cheval, known as 'le facteur Cheval' (1836–1924) Henry Darger (1892–1973) L. S. Lowry (1887–1976) Grandma Moses, Anna Mary Robertson (1860–1961) Nikifor (1895–1968) Poland, Horace Pippin (1888–1946) Jon Serl (1894-1993) United States Alfred Wallis (1855–1942) Scottie Wilson (1890–1972) Gesner Abelard (b. 1922) Jan Balet (1913–2009) Michel Delacroix (b. 1933) France Howard Finster (1916–2001) Ivan Rabuzin (1921–2008) Spontaneous Art Museum in Brussels Art en Marge Museum in Brussels MADmusée in Liege International Museum of Naive Art of Brazil...

A colorful folk marriage scene by French artist, Rene Cazassus. The painting is signed lower right and beautifully framed.

Portrait of a Lady French School, 19th century circle of Henri Rousseau, French 1844 - 1910 oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 24 x 23.5 inches provenance: private collection, France co...

Aboriginal figure is an original contemporary artwork realized in the mid-20th Century by an Anonymous artist. Mixed colored oil and tempera on paper. Includes frame: 79.8 x 2 x 54...

Portrait of a Woman Miriam Bromberg Oil on Canvas Size: 36 x 14 in. (91.44 x 35.56 cm) Frame Size: 43 x 21 inches