Items Similar to Early Mid Century Modern Self Portrait by renowned Abstract Expressionist Signed
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 12
Ron GorchovEarly Mid Century Modern Self Portrait by renowned Abstract Expressionist Signed1959
1959
About the Item
Ron Gorchov
Historic Self Portrait, 1955-1959
Oil painting on board
Hand signed in paint on the upper recto and dated 1955-9
Frame included: held in original vintage artist's frame
This work was exhibited at the Sager Reeves Gallery in Columbia, Missouri in their Masters Exhibit in December, 2022, and is reproduced as a full page in their exhibition catalogue. A copy of this catalogue accompanies the artwork.
In 2019, the year before Ron Gorchov passed away, Stephen Truax, director of Cheim & Read, his then gallery, passed along details of this extraordinary painting to Gorchov's studio to be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonne. When shown the work, Gorchov remembered it well, but was amazed that the painting was still in existence after so many years. This historic early self-portrait, done over a period of four years, from 1955-1959, starting when he was only 25 years old reveals Gorchov's distinctive and sophisticated sense of color and form. This is one of the artist's earliest works, and very few works by Gorchov from this era ever appear on the market or are known to remain in existence. It should be in any museum or career retrospective. This work was gifted by the artist to Elthea Rembrandt Peale Florman in NYC in 1959 - the year Gorchov won a prestigious Ingram Merrill Foundation award. Elthea was also an artist, and came from a long line of American artists. She was immersed in the art scene in NYC until she went to art school in Tennessee. The painting was given to her by Ron Gorchov and remained in Ms. Florman's collection until her passing, whereupon it was bequeathed to her descendants.
Measurements:
Framed 31 inches by 25 inches
Board 30 by 20 inches
Provenance:
Elthea Rembrandt Peale Florman
By descent to the present owner
More about Ron Gorchov
“My paintings are mostly made from reverie, and luck.”
— Ron Gorchov from interview with Robert Storr and Phong Bui, September 2006
Born in Chicago in 1930, Ron Gorchov was an American artist known for his curved surface artworks. The artist helped spearhead the shaped canvas movement. With his bowed wooden frames stretched with linen or canvas, he uniquely bridged sculpture and abstract painting.
Gorchov’s oil-on-linen paintings pair one or two biomorphic colored shapes with differently colored backgrounds. The patterns of these paintings resemble living organisms, telling the story of the beginning of a certain formative state. These questions of form and existence materialize through the use of bold brushstrokes, providing chromatic contrasts.
The artist hung the work on a shaped canvas stretcher that is at once concave and convex, similar to shields or saddles. Gorchov utilized the curved shape’s ability to catch the viewers’ immediate attention faster than the traditional rectangle. While the paintings themselves play with symmetry and asymmetry, the warped edges of Gorchov’s canvases create new dimensions and depth, disorienting the perception of the audience.
Gorchov’s distinctive and assertive saddle-like stretchers were created in the late 1960s as an alternative to the pervasive Greenbergian formalism of the time, evidenced in the dominance of minimalist sculpture. He created his first shaped canvas work in Mark Rothko’s studio. He belongs to a generation of artists in New York in the 1960s and 70s that includes Frank Stella, Richard Tuttle, Blinky Palermo, and Ellsworth Kelly, who pushed painting to its extreme. Gorchov was unique in his ability to unite form and content while preserving their tensions.
Following his first solo exhibition at New York’s Tibor de Nagy Gallery in 1960, Gorchov’s artworks have since been exhibited at prominent museums and galleries around the world. His works have been shown in New York at The Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA PS1, Queens Museum of Art, and the New Museum of Contemporary Art. He has also been the subject of solo exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis (‘14) and at the Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (‘11). Recent solo exhibitions include Cheim & Read, New York (’22, ’21, ’19, ‘17, ‘12); Maruani Mercier, Brussels (’19, ’18, ’17); Modern Art, London (’19); Galerie Max Hetzler, Berlin (’18); Thomas Brambilla, Bergamo (’18, ‘15); and Vito Schnabel Gallery, New York (‘21, ’16, ’13, ’08, ‘05).
"Ron Gorchov’s paintings are among the most fully and graciously embodied being made today. They engage our whole bodies from our first encounter with them and sustain this engagement over time. You have to move to see them, and when you move, they come alive. With one’s whole body involved, the mind is also free to move, and does.”
—David Levi Strauss
“In Ron Gorchov’s paintings we find the argument that he created for himself is his poetic flight, and within the argument of lightness (his imagery) and weightiness (his structure) there arises his fine balance that truly obscures the differences between form and content. He is painting-in-between.”
—Phong Bui
- Creator:Ron Gorchov (1930 - 2020, American)
- Creation Year:1959
- Dimensions:Height: 31 in (78.74 cm)Width: 25 in (63.5 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Good vintage condition; the painting is loose in the original board and there's some loss all around the edges (see photos) otherwise good stable condition. This is an absolutely unique and historic piece. It should be in any museum retrospective.
- Gallery Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1745210652982
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 2007
1stDibs seller since 2022
289 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Early two sided figurative painting with separate portraits by renowned painterBy Alfred JensenLocated in New York, NYAlfred Jensen Untitled two sided painting, 1947 2-sided gouache painting on board (one portrait is vertical; the other horizontal) 29 × 23 7/20 inches Signed and dated in paint on th...Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Gouache
- Untitled Mid Century Modern abstraction (original signed oil painting on board)Located in New York, NYRemo Farruggio Untitled Mid Century Modern abstraction (original oil painting), ca. 1947 Oil painting on masonite board Hand signed by Remo Farruggio on the lower right front 16 × 20...Category
Mid-20th Century Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- Charlie Playing, Arie SingingBy Thelma AppelLocated in New York, NYThelma Appel Charlie Playing, Arie Singing, 2020 Acrylic on canvas. Hand signed by the artist on the front; signed, titled and dated by the artist on the back 20 × 16 × 1/2 inches F...Category
2010s Realist Portrait Paintings
MaterialsAcrylic, Canvas
- Jasper Johns Red (original hand signed mixed media painting, numbered HPM 2/2)By Shepard FaireyLocated in New York, NYShepard Fairey Jasper Johns Red, 2010 Silkscreen and mixed media collage on wood. Hand signed twice - on both the front and the back 23 3/4 × 17 1/2 inches Frame included Edition HPM 2/2 This wonderful and culturally significant hand painted multiple on wood board is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Obey Giant Art...Category
2010s Pop Art Portrait Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Screen, Acrylic
- Lightness (Abstract Expressionist painting), Hand signed and Estate stampedBy Ben WilsonLocated in New York, NYBen WIlson Lightness, ca. 1980 Oil on masonite board 21 × 25 × 3/10 inches Stamped by artist's estate, Hand signed by the artist on the front AND stamped by the artist's estate on th...Category
1980s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- Abstract Composition (Robert Rauschenberg Foundation #88.D109)By Robert RauschenbergLocated in New York, NYRobert Rauschenberg Abstract Composition (Robert Rauschenberg Foundation #88.D109), 1988 Solvent transfer, watercolor, and gouache on Japanese dedication board Hand-signed by artist,...Category
1980s Pop Art Abstract Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Watercolor, Gouache, Board
You May Also Like
- Portrait of a Young WomanBy Peter Robert KeilLocated in London, GB'Portrait of a Young Woman', oil on board, by Peter Robert Keil (1983). A wide-eyed woman gazes out to the viewer with an inquisitive gaze. The artist's use of exuberant colours beli...Category
1980s Modern Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- Deserted Street, Figurative Exterior Painting with Yellow, Orange and RedBy Jenne MagafanLocated in Denver, COOil on canvas painting from 1946 by Colorado/Woodstock modernist Jenne Magafan (1916-1952) titled 'Deserted Street'. Single figure portrayed in a ghost town with buildings and teleph...Category
1940s American Modern Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- Untitled Cubist FigureBy STMLocated in London, GB'Untitled Cubist Figure', oil on board, by STM (circa 1970s). A vibrant modern painting inspired by Picasso and Braque, the artist uses angles, lines and...Category
1970s Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- Portrait of a Young WomanLocated in London, GB'Portrait of Young Woman', oil on board, German School (circa 1960s). A sensuous mid-century portrait of a young woman painted in the style of expressionists / cubists of the era. Un...Category
1960s Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- Portrait of a Smiling WomanBy Peter Robert KeilLocated in London, GB'Portrait of a Smiling Woman', oil on board, by Peter Robert Keil (1983). A cheerful look on the painting's subject puts a smile on the face of the viewer as well. Her beautiful blue eyes express a contentedness suggesting life is good...Category
1980s Modern Portrait Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- Flirt. 1970. Cardboard, mixed media, 50x40 cmBy Vladimir GlushenkovLocated in Riga, LVFlirt. Cardboard, mixed media, 50x40 cm Abstract/Surrealist composition with two fasec Vladimir Borisovich Glushenkov (May 21, 1948, Riga - December 26, 2009, Riga.) - painter, grap...Category
1970s Surrealist Portrait Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Oil, Cardboard
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Portraits American 20th Century
Modern Historic
Modern Historicism
Portraits 20 Century
Remember When
Mid Century Oil Portraits
Mid Century Modern Portrait
Midcentury Modern Portrait
Oil Portrait Midcentury
Old Vintage Portrait
Old Vintage Portraits
Mid Century Expressionist Art
Expressionist Oil Portrait
Retro Self Portrait
Self Portrait Abstract
Old Vintage Portrait Paintings
Tennessee Galleries
Retro Long Board