Wood Nude Paintings

Michael Leonard (b.1933). Theseus and the Minotaur, 1969. Acrylic on masonite panel, 16 x 20 inches; 20 x 24 inches framed. Signed and dated lower right. Signed en verso. Original Midtown Payson Galleries label affixed en verso. Excellent condition with no conservation. Theseus and the Minotaur represents the highest achievement from Leonard's transitional period of the late 1960's. It demonstrates his mastery of the illustrative style. Aware that he has exhausted the possibilities offered to him, the artist would soon move on to a mode of academic realism based on photo studies. In this piece, the subdued and earthy palate accentuates the the hero's pale flesh. It glows in comparison the the chalky grays and clay browns that frame it. The subtle graduation of tone in the subject's face signals the method Leonard would use to create almost shadowless compositions in coming years. Tradition artistic interpretations of the myth show two figures in battle, most frequently depicting the hero slaying the monster. This provocative image disorients the viewer, suggesting a gentle, intimate friendship. Adding to the complicated task of interpreting the image are factors or race and sexual orientation. Considering that Theseus and the Minotaur was painted in 1969, we can safely assert that it is a daring and prescient work that anticipates sexual freedoms of the decade to come. Price on request Biography: BORN: Bangalore, India of British parents, 1933 EDUCATION: 1972 First exhibited as a painter. Gradually relinquished Illustration to paint full time. Lives and works in London. 1957-72 Worked as an a freelance illustrator with Artists Partners 1954-57 Studied Graphic Design and Illustration at St. Martin’s School of Art, London ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS: 2009 New Paintings & Drawings, Forum Gallery, NY (catalogue) 2007 Michael Leonard; Master of Ambiguity: Paintings, Drawings, and Portraits, Jonathan Edwards College, Yale University, New Haven, CT (catalogue) 2004 Drawings by Michael Leonard, Thomas Gibson Fine Art, London, England (catalogue) 1999 Forum Gallery, New York, NY (catalogue) 1997 Thomas Gibson Fine Art, London, England (catalogue) 1993 Thomas Gibson Fine Art, London, England 1992 Verisimilitude, Stiebel Modern, New York, NY (catalogue) 1989 Retrospective, Artsite Gallery, Bath, England 1988 Fischer Fine Art, London, England (catalogue) 1983 Fischer Fine Art, London, England (catalogue) 1980 Fischer Fine Art, London, England (catalogue) 1977 Fischer Fine Art, London, England (catalogue) Michael Leonard/Drawings, Harriet Griffin Fine Arts, New York, NY Retrospective, Gemeentemuseum, Arnhem, The Netherlands 1974 Fischer Fine Art, London, England (catalogue) SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2018 Artists by Artists: The Artist as Subject, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2017-18 Favorite Things: A Holiday Exhibition, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2016-17 Contemporary Old Masters, Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 2014 Wives, Daughters and Lovers, Forum Gallery, New York, NY Re-presenting Representation VIII, Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY 2013 Singular Vision, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2012 Perception of Self, Forum Gallery, New York, NY Five Decades: Art and Artists of Forum Gallery, 1962-2012, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2010 Contemporary Paintings, Drawings & Sculpture: A Summer Selection, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2010 Re-Presenting the Nude, EVOKE Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2009 Summer Selections, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2008 New Acquisitions, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2007-08 About Face; Portraiture Now, Long Beach Museum of Art, CA 2006 The Fine Art of Drawing: Modern & Contemporary Works on Paper, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2005 Cover Story: The Art and Photojournalism of the Sunday Times Magazine, Nikon and Proud Galleries What is Realism? Albermarle Gallery, London 2005 Collector’s Show, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR The Figurative Impulse, Forum Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2004 Masters and Mavericks, Seraphin Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2003 Collector’s Show, Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, AR Contemporary Works on Paper, Forum Gallery, New York, NY Modern and Contemporary Portraits curated by Townsend Wolfe, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 2002 Artists of the Ideal, Palazzo Forte, Galleria d’Arte Moderna, Verona 2001 Between Heaven and Earth-New Classical Movements in the Art of Today, Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Ostende, Belgium 2000 The Male Form in Contemporary Art, Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL Still Lifes, William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA 1999 The Nude in Contemporary Art, The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT 1998 Still Life Painting Today, Jerald Melberg Gallery, Charlotte, NC Apple of My Eye: Selections of Paintings and Works on Paper, Kraushaar Gallery, New York, NY It’s Still Life, Forum Gallery, New York, NY 1998 Collector’s Show, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT 1997 Animals in Art, Sotheby’s: London (touring Brighton & Preston) Re-presenting Representation III, Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY Ars Erotica, Edward Lucie-Smith, Rizzoli, New York, NY 1994 Naked Men and Women in American Art, Midtown Payson Galleries, New York, NY 1991 In Human Terms, Stiebel Modern, New York, NY 1987-88 The Self Portrait: A Modern View, Artsite, Bath (touring exhibition organized by Sean Kelly and Edward Lucie- Smith) 1983 8 British Realists, Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY Urban Landscape, Oldham Museum and Art Gallery, Oldham, UK Pintura Brittanica Contemporanea, Museo Municipal, Madrid, Spain British Realists, Robin Gibson Gallery, Darlinghurst, New South Wales The Male Nude: A Modern View, Homeworks, London (Organized by Francois de Louville) 1982 Fischer Group Show, Solomon Gallery, Dublin 1981 Various Approaches, Fischer Fine Art, London The Real British, Fischer Fine Art, London (organized by Edward Lucie-Smith) Fischer Fine Art, London 1980 Nudes, Angela Flowers, London 1979-80 The Craft of Art, Peter Moore’s Liverpool Project 5, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool 1979 Figurative Approach 4, Fischer Fine Art, London 1978 John Moores’ 11, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Figurative Approach 3, Fischer Fine Art, London 1976 Fischer Fine Art, London 1975 Aspects of Realism, touring exhibition in Canada (organized by Rothmans) John Moores’ 10, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Figurative Approach, Fischer Fine Art, London 1975 Realismus and Realitat, Kunsthalle, Darmstadt Fischer Fine Art, London 1973 Fischer Fine Art, London 1972 English Explorations, Fischer Fine Art, London SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: Books; Monographs: Drawn to the Past, Foreword by Anthea Gibson, Thomas Gibson Fine Art, London, 1993 Changing II (augmented edition of Changing), Editions Aubrey Walters, London, 1992 Michael Leonard: Paintings, Foreword by Lincoln Kirstein, Edward Lucie-Smith in conversation with the artist, GMP Publishers, London, 1985 Changing: 50 Drawings, Introduction by Edward Lucie-Smith, GMP Publishers, London, 1983 Books; Illustrated: The Folk Songs of North America, Alan Lomax, Cassell, London, 1960 The Kingdom of Carbonel, Barbara Sleigh, Max Parrish, London, 1959 When Wendy Grew Up – An Afterthought, J.M. Barrie, Nelson, Edinburgh Articles / Reviews: Lucie-Smith, Edward. “Modern Virtuoso.” Art Review. June 1997. Norman, Geraldine. “Nudes Inspired by Past Masters.” The Independent. June 21, 1993. Packer, William. “Back to Real Painting.” The Financial Times, June 22, 1993. Sewell, Brian. “Nude Awakening...

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