Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 8

Leon Kelly
Lunar Encounter with Child, Surrealist Portrait, Oil on Canvas, 1958, Framed

1958

About the Item

"Lunar Encounter with Child" by Philadelphia born modernist painter Leon Kelly, is a large, brightly colored surrealist portrait of two figures. The 40" x 30" oil on canvas was painted in 1958, it is signed and dated on the lower right, as well as signed, dated, and titled on verso. Provenance: Estate of the Artist, descended through the family. Leon Kelly (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1901 - 1982) was a student and teacher at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, studying under controversial teacher and modernist Arthur B. Carles who greatly impacted and influenced Kelly's career and painting style. Having been awarded the prestigious Cresson Traveling Fellowship, he was able to study in Europe and gained much recognition in the Paris art world. His striking modernist, surrealist, cubist, and abstract paintings in figure genre, landscapes, and still lives have been widely exhibited throughout the United States, including Philadelphia and New York and can be found in numerous national and international, permanent collections, including but not limited to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Kelly was a regular exhibitor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annuals. In the 1920's Kelly created mostly paintings of Cubist style. By the 1940's he moved towards Surrealism and in 1942 earned himself a one-man exhibition by Julien Levy, the most preeminent gallery dealer for European Surrealist painters and the Avant Garde in the 1930's and 40's. Levy was a strong advocate of Kelly's work, exhibited his paintings many times throughout the years, and the two of them remained in close contact even after the closing of the gallery in 1948. Leon Kelly taught at the Academy from 1961 - 1973 and died at age 81, living in isolation on an island off the coast of New Jersey.
  • Creator:
    Leon Kelly (1901-1982, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1958
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 46 in (116.84 cm)Width: 36 in (91.44 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    The painting has been cleaned and varnished. Additional shipping options available upon request.
  • Gallery Location:
    Doylestown, PA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU140226503422
More From This SellerView All
  • Modern Man, Expressionist Portrait in Red, White, and Blue
    By Bernard Harmon
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Modern Man" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 40" x 36" oil on canvas portrait features a young African American man posing casually and s...
    Category

    1970s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Self Portrait, Expressionist Figurative Portrait by Philadelphia Artist
    By Bernard Harmon
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Self Portrait" is a painting by Philadelphia born Expressionist painter Bernard Harmon. The 47" x 28.5" oil on canvas portrait features Harmon at a young age of about 25 years old. ...
    Category

    1960s Expressionist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Seated Figure, American Modernist and Southwestern Art, Female Artist, 1940's
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Seated Figure" is a 30 x 25 inches, oil on canvas painting by American modernist, female artist Peter Miller. The work is painted in a muted color palette with intense color highlights only placed strategically to draw attention to the figures mystique. Peter Miller often used methods like this to create a strong sense of spirituality, creating patterns simulating the texture of canyon walls and the surrounding terrain. The work is estate stamped 202190 on verso and framed in a natural wood frame. The painting has been conserved and inspected by conservation specialist, Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, Inc. "Seated Figure" is signed "Peter Miller" and titled on verso, and framed in dark, natural wood. Provenance: Estate of the Artist; Private Collection, Saugerties, New York; Gratz Gallery & Conservation Studio, Doylestown, Pennsylvania. American artist Peter Miller (1913-1996) was born Henrietta Myers in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She began using the name Peter Miller after concluding her studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1934 and her marriage to fellow artist and Academy student Earle Miller in 1935. She felt collectors and critics would take her paintings more seriously if she was identified as a male. In childhood, Henrietta and her best friend Ruth picked fictitious nicknames for themselves, and Henrietta reportedly decided upon the name Peter because she liked the idea that it was derived from the Greek word for “rock” or “stone”. Drawn to being one with the natural world would prove to be an essential inspiration to her creativity throughout her life. Miller is classified as an American Modernist, a reputation she earned for having shown at the prestigious gallery and premiere showcase for Surrealist painting of Julien Levy in New York in the 1940s. Reviewers of her exhibitions noted the unmistakable influence of the artists Joan Miró, whose work she owned and whom she knew, and Arthur Carles, whom she studied with, and sources in Native American culture, which came from sharing time between her home state of Pennsylvania and New Mexico. Peter and her husband Earle considered New Mexico their spiritual home, and in 1935 they built a ranch in Española, about 25 miles north of Santa Fe. Being neighbors of the indigenous people of the Tewa Pueblo, their crafts and religious beliefs fascinated Peter and the reliance of Native Americans upon the land and the animals permeated her work for most of her career. Their belief that all creatures could serve as intermediaries in communication with the spiritual world, inspired Miller to incorporate their symbols in her own paintings, along with signs drawn from indigenous pottery...
    Category

    1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Man Thinking of Winter Fields, American Modernist Painting by Female Artist
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Man Thinking of Winter Fields" is a 12 x 9 1/8 inches, oil on board painting by American modernist and surrealist, female artist Peter Miller. Signed and titled "Man Thinking of Win...
    Category

    1940s American Modern Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Indian Chief, Southwestern Modernist Social Commentary Painting by Female Artist
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    "Indian Chief" is a 10 x 15 inches, oil on canvas painting by American modernist and surrealist, female artist Peter Miller. The work is estate stamped 20206 on verso. The painting h...
    Category

    1930s American Modern Figurative Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

  • Portrait of a Lady, Oil on Canvas, 1840's, In Style of Jacob Eichholtz
    Located in Doylestown, PA
    This interior portrait of a woman dressed in an elegant lace shawl is a 30" x 25" oil on canvas painting in the style of Jacob Eichholtz. The artist is unknown but the painting is believed to have been painted in the 1840's. It is not signed but framed and in good condition. Provenance: Private Collection, Old Queens Gallery...
    Category

    Mid-19th Century American Realist Portrait Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

Recently Viewed

View All