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William Clutz
Tan Suit IV: Abstract Figurative Painting of Man in Beige Suit by William Clutz

1987

$4,800

About

Modern abstracted figurative painting of a man walking in a beige suit “Tan Suit IV” painted by William Clutz in 1987 30 x 20 inches in a natural wood floater frame Wire backing, signed lower right This figurative oil on canvas painting was made in 1987 by William Clutz as part of a series of works called "Crossings". These paintings were a study of NYC dwellers engaging in the simple, daily activity of crossing the street. In this piece, Clutz captures a single figure in a beige suit with broad, expressionistic brushstrokes. Light is portrayed with soft yellow and dusty lilac tones that radiate through the figure’s suit and onto the street in the background. He discovers the extraordinary in the ordinary, by emphasizing the effects of sunlight and it’s ability to abstract the human form. The painting is in excellent condition and is framed in a natural wood floater frame. The artist’s signature is located in the lower right corner. More about the artist: In New York in the early 50's and 60's, abstract expressionism was the orthodox approach to art at the time. However, Clutz was committed to his personal style that focused on abstracted human figures within urban tableaux. Working in a context of artists who challenged abstract expressionism's popularity in New York, Clutz established himself as a significant proponent of abstract figuration. His paintings focus on human figures within the urban environment, often exposing the transfiguration of his subjects as they travel through the complex light of city streets or summer parks, as shown in two of his early works. Clutz's interest in working from direct observation of urban life was influenced by a long-standing interest in German Expressionism, as well as artists like Henri Matisse, Arshile Gorky, and Nicholas De Stael, and also Albert Ryder's series of reductive seascapes. Additional Information: Renowned as the “impressionist of the contemporary metropolis”, William Clutz uses the city, in its entirety, as his subject. Pedestrians crossing streets become stars of the stage; the hustle and bustle of traffic and surrounding buildings are the chorus; each play their part in the overall composition. Lighting and color shift this observation of the everyday into a remarkable wonder. “It is surely Clutz”, wrote Gerrit Henry in Art News, 1979, “an artist who has rejected the niceties of representation in favor of the quintessence.” The young artist moved to New York City in 1955 and just four years later had his first solo exhibit at the Condon Riley Gallery. Clutz went on to show in major uptown galleries such as David Herbert, where, notably in 1962 he received a NYTimes review titled, Return of the Figure. That same year, his role in the revival of figuration was further solidified with inclusion in the MoMA group show, Recent Painting USA, The Figure. This was a pivotal turning point from which emerged a 50-year exhibiting career. Resume Born: Gettysburg, PA 1933 Mercersburg, PA 1933-1951 New York City 1955-1996 Education Painting: Thomas Danaher(WPA artist) 1944-51 Mercersburg Academy, PA 1947-51 University of Iowa, B.A. 1951-55 Arts Student League, NYC 1957 Solo Exhibitions Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery, NY 2008, 2005, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 New York Stock Exchange, NY 2002 Nicholas Davies Gallery, NY Retrospect 1955-1973 1997 Carrie Haddad Gallery, Hudson NY 2013, 2008, 1993 Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Hagerstown, MD Retropective 1991 Tatistcheff Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1992, 1998 P.B. van Voorst van Beest Gallery, The Hague 1984 John Stoller Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 1987, 1983, 1980 Gallery 333, Dayton, OH 1980 Alonzo Gallery, NY 1979, 1978, 1977 Mellon Art Center, Choate Rosemary Hall Wallingford, CT 1979 Walther-Rathenau-Saal, Berlin, West Germany 1978 Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA 1977 Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA 1976 Brooke Alexander, NY 1973 Lamont Gallery, Exeter, NH 1973 Addison Gallery, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA 1973 Graham Gallery, NY 1972 Bertha Schaefer Gallery, NY 1969, 1966, 1964, 1963 Brooklyn College, NY 1969 Triangle Gallery, San Francisco, CA 1967 David Herbert Gallery, NY 1962 Condon Riley, NY 1959 Selected Group Exhibitions Albright Know, Museum, Members Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2002, 2001 Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, FL, Collector Series 2001 Tatistcheff Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1995, 1994, 1988 Metropolitan Museum of Arts, NYC Revivals and Revitalization: American Pastels in the Metropolitan 1990-1989 Montclair Art Museum, NJ Art of the 80’s 1989 Kornbluth Gallery, Fair Lawn, NJ 1989 Christian A. Johnson Memorial Art Gallery, Middlebury, VT 1988 Tatistcheff & Co., MY 1987, 1985 Chemical Bank Gallery, MY 1987 Selected Group Exhibitions (cont’d.) San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA American Realism 1985 Schoelkopf Gallery, NY 1985 Art and the Law, West Publishing Co. MN 1985 Squibb Gallery, Princeton NJ 1985 Rahr-West Gallery, St. Paul, MN Traveling Exhibit 1984 Brooklyn Museum, NY The Great East River Bridge 1983 Robert R. Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta GA 1983 Collegiate School, NY 1982 Of Time and Place, American Figurative Art from The Corcoran Collection, Traveling Exhibit Smithsonian Institution, Wash. DC 1981 Hirschl & Adler, NY 1980 Westmoreland County Museum, Greensburg, PA The New American Still Life 1978 Smithsonian Inst., Wash., DC American Drawings, 1976, Traveling 1977 Brooke Alexander, NY 1973 Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, OH 1970 Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL 1969 Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 1968 Tweed Gallery, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 1968 University of Wisconsin Madison, WI 1967 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA Annual 1966,1965,1964 Hunter Gallery of Art, Chattanooga, TN 1966 University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 1966 Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NY 1966 Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, VA Annual 1966 Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI 1965 Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE Annual 1965 Ontario East Gallery, Chicago, IL 1965 Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha NE 1964 The American Federation of Arts, Traveling Exhibition: The Figure International 1963 Museum of Modern Art, NY Recent Painting USA: The Figure 1962 Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX The Emerging Figure 1961 Museum of Modern Art, NY Recent Drawings USA 1956 Des Moines Art Center, Iowa Annual: Honorable Mention 1954 Cumberland Valley Artists, First Prize, MD 1952 Selected Collections: Museums, Universities Museum of Modern Art, NY Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY Metropolitan Museum, NY Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC Museum of the City of New York Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA The Newark Museum, NJ Telfair Museum, Savannah, GA Huntsville Museum, AL Hudson River Museum, NY Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, NY Dutchess County Community College, Poughkeepsie, NY Sheldon Memorial Museum, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD University of Massachusetts Art Collection, Amherst, MD Minnesota Museum, St. Paul MN New York University Collection, NY Tweed Museum, Duluth, MN Dayton Art Institute, OH Miles College, Atlanta, GA Phillips Exeter Academy, NH Mercersburg Academy, PA Boise Art Museum, ID Selected Collections: Corporations AT & T, NY Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance, St. Paul, MI Chase Manhattan Bank, NY Donaldson, Lufkin, Jenrette, NY Third National Bank and Trust, Dayton, OH Solomon Brothers, NY Schroeder Bank, NY Wausau Insurance Company, WI Bradley Family Foundation, New Orleans, LA Simpson, Thatcher and Bartlett, NY New York Stock Exchange, NY McKinsey and Company, NY Southeast Banking Corporation, Miami, FL Mobil Corporation, Fairfax, VA Shearson / Lehman Brothers, NY Amerada Hess, NY Milbank, Tweed, Hadley, McCloy, Washington, DC Ashland Oil Company, KY J. Walter Thompson, NY First Bank, Minneapolis, MN

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