Thomas Duncan Benrimo

Reflections

1951

"In the world of still life and landscape, conceptual events meet one another – the structural meets the narrative, the small stands in the space of the large, and color has a chance...

"In the world of still life and landscape, conceptual events meet one another – the structural meets the narrative, the small stands in the space of the large, and color has a chance...

"In the world of still life and landscape, conceptual events meet one another – the structural meets the narrative, the small stands in the space of the large, and color has a chance...

"In the world of still life and landscape, conceptual events meet one another – the structural meets the narrative, the small stands in the space of the large, and color has a chance...

"In the world of still life and landscape, conceptual events meet one another – the structural meets the narrative, the small stands in the space of the large, and color has a chance...

"In the world of still life and landscape, conceptual events meet one another – the structural meets the narrative, the small stands in the space of the large, and color has a chance...

A beautiful wooded landscape scene with houses and trees. Painted on a masonite board. hand signed lower right. with framers label verso. Framed to 40 X 55 inches. 33 X 48 without the frame and mat. It is not dated. Lena Gurr (1897–1992), was an American woman artist who made paintings, prints, and drawings During the course of her career Gurr's compositions retained emotional content as they evolved from a naturalistic to a semi-abstract cubist style. Born into a Russian-Jewish Yiddish speaking immigrant family, she was the wife of Joseph Biel, also Russian-Jewish and an artist of similar genre and sensibility. Gurr used Lena Gurr as her professional name. After marrying Joseph Biel she was sometimes referred to as Lena Gurr Biel. Biel had been born in Grodno, Poland (later absorbed into Russia) and had lived in England, France, and Australia before coming to New York. An artist, he specialized in landscape paintings and silkscreen printing as well as photography. He studied art at the Russian Academy in Paris. After immigrating to the United States, he studied under George Grosz at the Arts Students League. Gurr was born in Brooklyn and, apart from brief stays in Manhattan and in Paris, lived there her whole life. This painting bears the influence of Lyonel Feininger an influential German American artist. Gurr began studying art at a young age. In 1919 she studied painting and printmaking at the Educational Alliance Art School and between 1920 and 1922 she won a scholarship to attend the Art Students League where she took classes with John Sloan and Maurice Sterne. In 1926 and 1928 Gurr participated in group shows at the Whitney Studio Club in Greenwich Village and in 1928 she also participated in the 12th annual exhibition of the Society of Independent Artists at the Waldorf Roof in New York. (Reviewing this show, Helen Appleton Read, the critic for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, said "I made three discoveries on my first visit, Thomas Nagel, Eugenie McEvoy and Lena Gurr with two figure compositions which have something of Marie Laurencin or Helene Perdriat quality of naive sophistication.") The Waldorf Roof was a set of rooms on the top floor of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, one of which had glass sides and a glass roof. The rooms were used for concerts, dances, benefits, and exhibitions.From 1929 to 1931 Gurr took a leave of absence from her teaching position to travel in France with Joseph Biel, an artist whom she had met while studying at the Art Students League. They spent time in Nice and Mentone but mainly in Paris. During the early months of 1931, while she was still abroad, her work appeared in group exhibitions held at the R. H. Macy department store and the Opportunity Gallery (opened by Gifford Beal). In 1932 she participated in three shows: a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, an annual exhibition of the New York Society of Women Artists, ( Its first president was Marguerite Zorach. Founding members included Agnes Weinrich, Anne Goldthwaite...

Cumulus and Wide Field (Contemporary Landscape Painting Billowing White Cumulus Clouds Against a Pale Blue Sky Over Country Fields) oil on two panels, assembled diptych, with a white painted wood frame 33 x 45.25 x 2.5 inches painting is wired on reverse for easy installation Signed by the artist, verso This painting is an exquisite example of the artist's unique ability to paint billowing clouds - bouncing between light and shadow with a subtle palette of warm white and pale blue, we cannot help but associate it with the iconic Hudson River Valley landscape...

William Shields Jr., 1925-2010 "Red Anchor" 1996 Oil on panel 48"x48" artist framed Unsigned "Red Anchor" by William Shields Jr. is a striking oil pain...

William Stephens Shields, Jr., 1925 - 2010 "Kingdoms" 1993 Oil on panel 48"x48" artist framed Signed in paint lower left William Stephens Shields, Jr., 1925 - 2010 He was born in san Francisco, in 1931, Bill moved to Texas, where he grew up. Moved to New York in 1940 and later joined the Naval Air Corps at the age of 18. He served as an Aviation Cadet in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945. At the end of WWII, Bill returned to Texas. At 21, Bill re-focused his energy and enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Art as an Illustration major. What followed was a whirlwind of success, great friendships and a sense of belonging he had never before experienced. Art was his calling and the art-world could not have been less prepared for the likes of Bill Shields. He took them by storm, first Houston, then San Francisco, followed by New York in the late 60's. For 35 years, Bill produced some of the country's best illustrations: fresh, playful, loose and innovative. His illustrations were coveted by such clients as Bantam Books, Time Life, MacMillan Publishing Co., and were awarded numerous gold medals by the Societies of Illustrators in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the Houston Artists Guild. Later, following inspirational trips to Mexico and France, Bill shifted his attention to the self-directed world of fine art. After years of sculpting, making assemblages, painting nudes and landscapes, he settled on the exploration of large abstract oil paintings. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries in San Francisco, Connecticut and New York. CV EDUCATION: Chicago Academy Of Fine Art San Antonio Art Institute MAJOR FIELDS OF PROFESSIONAL ENDEAVOR: Freelance graphic design and illustration Instructor of painting and illustration Landscape, figurative and abstract painting ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT: (Professor of Art) California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA San Francisco Art Institute San Jose State University AWARDS FOR ILLUSTRATION, Gold Medals: New York Society of Illustrators Los Angeles Society of Illustrators San Francisco Society of Illustrators Dallas-Fort Worth Art Director's Club Houston Artist's Guild BIBLIOGRAPHY: Feature articles in: American Artist, Communication Arts, Print, North Light. Architectural design featured in: Better Homes and Gardens, American Home, Sunset Magazine, Architectural Digest. ILLUSTRATION CLIENTS: Oil Companies: Champlin Oil Company, Mobil Oil Company, Continental Oil Company, Standard Oil Company, Humble Oil...

William Stephens Shields, Jr., 1925 - 2010 "Dreamer's Forest" 1994 Oil on panel 48"x36" artist framed Signed lower right William Stephens Shields, Jr., 1925 - 2010 He was born in san Francisco, in 1931, Bill moved to Texas, where he grew up. Moved to New York in 1940 and later joined the Naval Air Corps at the age of 18. He served as an Aviation Cadet in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945. At the end of WWII, Bill returned to Texas. At 21, Bill re-focused his energy and enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Art as an Illustration major. What followed was a whirlwind of success, great friendships and a sense of belonging he had never before experienced. Art was his calling and the art-world could not have been less prepared for the likes of Bill Shields. He took them by storm, first Houston, then San Francisco, followed by New York in the late 60's. For 35 years, Bill produced some of the country's best illustrations: fresh, playful, loose and innovative. His illustrations were coveted by such clients as Bantam Books, Time Life, MacMillan Publishing Co., and were awarded numerous gold medals by the Societies of Illustrators in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the Houston Artists Guild. Later, following inspirational trips to Mexico and France, Bill shifted his attention to the self-directed world of fine art. After years of sculpting, making assemblages, painting nudes and landscapes, he settled on the exploration of large abstract oil paintings. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries in San Francisco, Connecticut and New York. CV EDUCATION: Chicago Academy Of Fine Art San Antonio Art Institute MAJOR FIELDS OF PROFESSIONAL ENDEAVOR: Freelance graphic design and illustration Instructor of painting and illustration Landscape, figurative and abstract painting ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT: (Professor of Art) California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA San Francisco Art Institute San Jose State University AWARDS FOR ILLUSTRATION, Gold Medals: New York Society of Illustrators Los Angeles Society of Illustrators San Francisco Society of Illustrators Dallas-Fort Worth Art Director's Club Houston Artist's Guild BIBLIOGRAPHY: Feature articles in: American Artist, Communication Arts, Print, North Light. Architectural design featured in: Better Homes and Gardens, American Home, Sunset Magazine, Architectural Digest. ILLUSTRATION CLIENTS: Oil Companies: Champlin Oil Company, Mobil Oil Company, Continental Oil Company, Standard Oil Company, Humble Oil and Refining Company. Industrial: Hughes Tool Company, General Electric, United States Steel, Phelps Dodge, Sylvania Television, Texas Gulf Sulphur, Litton Industries, Houston Lighting and Power Company...

William Stephens Shields, Jr., 1925 - 2010 "Visitation" 1994 Mixed media on canvas 48"x48" artist framed Signed lower right William Stephens Shields, Jr., 1925 - 2010 He was born in san Francisco, in 1931, Bill moved to Texas, where he grew up. Moved to New York in 1940 and later joined the Naval Air Corps at the age of 18. He served as an Aviation Cadet in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1945. At the end of WWII, Bill returned to Texas. At 21, Bill re-focused his energy and enrolled in the Chicago Academy of Fine Art as an Illustration major. What followed was a whirlwind of success, great friendships and a sense of belonging he had never before experienced. Art was his calling and the art-world could not have been less prepared for the likes of Bill Shields. He took them by storm, first Houston, then San Francisco, followed by New York in the late 60's. For 35 years, Bill produced some of the country's best illustrations: fresh, playful, loose and innovative. His illustrations were coveted by such clients as Bantam Books, Time Life, MacMillan Publishing Co., and were awarded numerous gold medals by the Societies of Illustrators in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and the Houston Artists Guild. Later, following inspirational trips to Mexico and France, Bill shifted his attention to the self-directed world of fine art. After years of sculpting, making assemblages, painting nudes and landscapes, he settled on the exploration of large abstract oil paintings. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries in San Francisco, Connecticut and New York. CV EDUCATION: Chicago Academy Of Fine Art San Antonio Art Institute MAJOR FIELDS OF PROFESSIONAL ENDEAVOR: Freelance graphic design and illustration Instructor of painting and illustration Landscape, figurative and abstract painting ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT: (Professor of Art) California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland, CA Academy of Art College, San Francisco, CA San Francisco Art Institute San Jose State University AWARDS FOR ILLUSTRATION, Gold Medals: New York Society of Illustrators Los Angeles Society of Illustrators San Francisco Society of Illustrators Dallas-Fort Worth Art Director's Club Houston Artist's Guild BIBLIOGRAPHY: Feature articles in: American Artist, Communication Arts, Print, North Light. Architectural design featured in: Better Homes and Gardens, American Home, Sunset Magazine, Architectural Digest. ILLUSTRATION CLIENTS: Oil Companies: Champlin Oil Company, Mobil Oil Company, Continental Oil Company, Standard Oil Company, Humble Oil...