George Weissbort

George Weissbort (1928-2013) - 20th Century Oil, Man with Two Chains

20th Century

Male Portrait, oil on board. Unsigned. (Provenance: Studio Sale, George Weissbort).

Unsigned. Provenance: Studio Sale. On board.

Signed lower right by the artist. Francesco J. Spicuzza, born in Sicily on July 23, 1883, came to America at the age of 8. He supported himself as a fruit peddler until a newspaperman gave him $4 a week to go to school. He attended classes at the Milwaukee Art Students League, where he studied under Alexander Mueller. There he learned to paint in the then-fashionable "Munich School" technique, with detailed realism in heavy browns and grayed-out hues. Spicuzza completed eight grades in four years, and then in 1911, three businessmen advanced him enough money to allow him to study in New York under artist and teacher John Carlson. It was during this time that Spicuzza changed his style of painting, developing an impressionistic use of color, form and atmospheric renditions. After a period of grinding poverty, one of Spicuzza's pictures won a major New York competition. It was the first of 60 wins, both in the U.S. and Paris. He became a fashionable painter, and many of the leading collections have his work. Spicuzza's typical works were beach scenes, still life, landscapes and portraits done in pastels, oils, ink, charcoal and watercolors. Much of his work traced the history of Milwaukee in the early 1900s. He was probably best known for his scenes of women and children splashing in the waves...

Male Portrait by Josine Vignon (French 1922-2022) signed on front and back - inscribed verso of the man's name! oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas: 18 x 13 inches Colors: Brow...