Michael Baxte

"Mexican Villagers Scene with Man on a Horse" Expressionistic Style Oil Painting

Mid-20th Century

A strong modernist oil painting depicted in the Mid Century by Russian painter Michael Baxte. Mostly known for his abstracted figures on canvas or street scenes, this piece is a wond...

A strong modernist oil painting depicted Circa 1960 by Russian painter Michael Baxte. Mostly known for his abstracted figures on canvas or street scenes, this piece is a wonderful representation of his bold still life paintings, with expressive use of color, shape, and form. Later in his career, Baxte explores Expressionism, infusing both European and North American stylistic trends. This piece is from later in his career, but we can feel this underlying style throughout. Art measures 18 x 21.75 inches Michael Posner Baxte was born in 1890 in the small town of Staroselje Belarus, Russia. For the first half of the 19th century it was a center of the Chabad movement of Hasidic Jews, but this group was gone by the middle of the 19th century. By the time the Baxte family immigrated to the United States at the beginning of the 20th century, the Jewish population numbered only on the hundreds. The native language of the Baxte family was Yiddish. It is likely that the death of Michael Baxte’s father triggered the family’s immigration. Three older brothers arrived in New York between 1903 and 1905. Michael and his mother, Rebecca, arrived in 1907. By 1910 Michael, his mother, and brother, Joseph, were living in New Orleans and may have spent some time on a Louisiana plantation. Around 1912, Michael Baxte returned to Europe to study the violin. In 1914 he, his mother, and Joseph moved to New York City. Meanwhile, in Algeria, a talented young woman painter, Violette Mege, was making history. Since for the first time, a woman won the prestigious Beaux Art competition in Algeria. At first, the awards committee denied her the prize but, with French government intervention, Mege eventually prevailed. She won again 3 years later and, in 1916, used the scholarship to visit the United States of America. When Violette came to New York, she met Baxte, who was, by then, an accomplished violinist, teacher, and composer. Baxte’s compositions were performed at the Tokyo Imperial Theater, and in 1922 he was listed in the American Jewish Yearbook as one of the prominent members of the American Jewish community. As a music teacher he encouraged individual expression. Baxte stated, “No pupil should ever be forced into imitation of the teacher. Art is a personal experience, and the teacher’s truest aim must be to awaken this light of personality through the patient light of science.” By 1920 Michael Baxte and Violette Mege were living together in Manhattan. Although they claimed to be living as husband and wife, it seems that their marriage did not become official until 1928. On their “unofficial” honeymoon around 1917, in Algiers, Baxte confided to her his ambition to paint. There and later in New Mexico where the wonderful steeped sunlight approximates the coloring of Algiers, she taught him his heart’s desire. He never had any other teacher. She never had any other pupil. For ten years she devoted all her time, energy, and ambition to teaching, encouraging, inspiring him. Then in 1928, their mutual strivings were rewarded, as his works were being chosen as one of the two winners in the Dudensing National Competition for American Painters. Out of 150 artists from across the country participated in the Dudensing, and Michael Posner Baxte and, Robert Fawcett, were the winners. In his 1924 naturalization application, he indicated that he was sometimes known as “Michael Posner Baxte.” One of the witnesses to his application was Bernard Karfiol, a Jewish American artist. That’s when Michael may...

American artist Samuel Brecher (active NY, 1897-1982) Oil on Canvas, Signed lower right ‘S. Brecher’ titled "and all our yesterdays" it depicts a Horseback rider (carousel horse?) amidst architecure ruins. Brecher was a very accomplished painter who won over forty prestigious prizes and awards during his career, and had numerous one-man exhibitions. Brecher’s works are included in many important private collections as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Walker Art Museum, the Smithsonian and the Newark Museum of Art. He is listed in Who’s Who in American Art and is a member of the Salmugundi Club* and the National Academy of Art Samuel Brecher was born in Boryslaw, Austria, a town near the Carpathian Mountains, now a part of Poland. His family came to New York in 1910, where Samuel graduated from Cooper Union* in 1921. He studied Art at the National Academy of Design* from 1921-1924, and continued studies under Charles W. Hawthorne in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Brecher was represented by several well known New York City galleries in the 1940’s and 1950’s including the Kraushaar Gallery, the ACA Gallery, the Hudson Walker Gallery and the Merrill Gallery. During his career he won over forty prestigious prizes and awards and had numerous one-man shows. Some of Brechers’s contemporary artist friends were Walt Kuhn, Reginald Marsh, Richard Haley...

The Roadside Tavern by Bernard Labbe (French mid 20th century) signed original watercolour/ gouache painting on paper board, unframed size: 11 x 13.75 inches condition: very good and...