Nathan Hoffman

"Central Park, Sherry Netherland Hotel, Plaza Hotel" Nathan Hoffman, New York

1970

Nathan Hoffman “Nathaniel Hoffman” was born on February 15, 1900. He studied at the Art Students League of New York, the National Academy of Design, and in the art program at Cooper Union. His work at the National Academy received praise, and in 1921 he was awarded the 2nd prize and an honorable mention from the John Armstrong Chaloner Paris Prize Foundation at the National Academy, which allowed the recipient to study in Paris, France for as long as five years. In 1923 he was residing in Long Branch, New Jersey, when he was awarded 4th place in the Chaloner competition. Early on, Hoffman exhibited his work throughout New York City, including in 1925 with the Society of Independent Artists. He also participated in several solo exhibitions during the first part of his career, including one at Ferargil Galleries in 1929. In the spring of 1930 a solo exhibition of his portraits, including paintings and drawings, was held at Babcock Galleries, where a reviewer noted: “Portraiture is obviously Mr. Hoffman’s specialty… his best work is characterized by a sensitive appreciation of character set down in a vigorous decisive statement". Later that same year, in August, he participated in Babcock’s summer exhibition. By 1939 Hoffman had become a gallerist in addition to being a painter, operating the collective exhibition space “Sutton Gallery,” which was originally located at 358 East 57th Street where Hoffman exhibited his works next to other prominent New York artists including David Burliuk among others. Hoffman continued to exhibit his and other artist’s works at the gallery through at least 1963, by which time it had moved to 236 East 60th Street. That year he held a spring exhibition dominated by early 20th century artists, including Charles W. Hawthorne and Joseph Stella. Most of what is known about Hoffman is through the several groupings of figurative, landscape, and seascape paintings that have appeared on the market over the years, showing a particular interest in painting in Brooklyn at Brighton Beach, Coney Island and elsewhere in the environs of New York City. Many of his works are small in size, indicating many of them were painted En plein air. Although his earlier works are impressionist in style, during his later years some abstract works do appear. Hoffman’s works are not presently known to be in the collection of any public institutions, however, his works reside in many private collections throughout the United States. Nathan Hoffman died in Flushing, Queens, New York on Sunday, the 20th of May 1979 at the age of seventy-nine years.