Erle Loran was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1905. He attended the University of Minnesota for a while before studying at the Minneapolis School of Art, under Cameron Booth, and graduated in 1926. Loran was awarded a traveling scholarship from the Chaloner Foundation (Paris Prize) after graduation and spent the next four years in Europe, living in Cézanne’s studio. Loran had always been fascinated by the work of the artist Paul Cézanne, and it motivated him throughout his life both in his painting and writing. He would later pen several books and articles based on his time spent in what was once Cézanne’s world. Once he returned home, Loran moved to California and began not only painting and continuing his art career, but also took up teaching at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as chairman of the art department from 1952–56 and continued teaching there until his retirement in 1973, where he was awarded a University Citation. Berkeley once again awarded Loran, this time in 1981, declaring him an Emeritus Professor.
During the 1940s, Loran belonged to a group of some 20 artists that produced lithographs for the “Chronicle Contemporary Graphics” project. Around the same time, he published two books (one of which was the successful Cézanne Composition) and two articles in art magazines the following decade. By the late 1960s, Loran had changed focus and began painting more abstract images, fusing Op Art, Pop Art and Hard Edge. Perhaps his new direction was influenced by his time spent in New York learning under the artist Hans Hoffman, an artist from Europe who was heavily interested in bringing modern European techniques and philosophies to America. Loran was eventually hindered by visual impairment but continued painting until about a year before his death. He passed away in Berkeley, California, in 1999.
(Biography provided by Robert Azensky Fine Art)
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Blacksmith (Untitled)
By Erle Loran
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Blacksmith (Untitled), 1936, oil on canvas, signed and dated lower right, 28 x 30 inches Erle Loran was an influential American painter, art historian, and educator, renowned for h...
Canvas, Oil
$7,000
H 52 in W 72 in D 2 in
Summer Mountains Wyoming Gold Diggins Abstract Landscape by Erle Loran, Berkeley
By Erle Loran
Located in Soquel, CA
Bright and vibrant abstracted landscape depicting the Wyoming mountains on a summer day by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). From a collection of his works. Estate stamp on verso. Un...
Canvas, Acrylic
$5,750
H 72 in W 52 in D 2 in
"Olympic Star" Large Scale Woman Surfer Figurative by Erle Loran
By Erle Loran
Located in Soquel, CA
"Olympic Star", Large Scale Woman Surfer Figurative by Erle Loran Vibrant hard edge painting of a surfer "Olympic Star," a bold and bright figurative piece by Erle Loran (American,...
Canvas, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars
Large, Signed, 1961 Abstract Painting
By Erle Loran
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Vibrant, large, signed and dated, oil-on-canvas painting by listed American artist, Erle Loran (1905-1999). Among Loran's many exhibitions were in 1924 at the Minnesota State Fair; the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, 1933; the Rockefeller Center, 1935; Oakland Art Gallery, 1936-1946; the San Francisco Art Museum annuals from 1936; the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1945; California Watercolor Society, 1947, among many others. His works can be seen at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Denver Museum, the University of Minnesota...
Canvas, Oil
Large Scale Abstract -- Rocky Image II
By Erle Loran
Located in Soquel, CA
Large-scale abstract titled "Rock Image II" by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Erle Loran was a modernist of urban and coastal views and geometric painting. Signed lower right "Lor...
Canvas, Acrylic
$4,750
H 41 in W 53 in D 2 in
Large Scale Abstracted Cityscape -- Mountains Overlooking the City
By Erle Loran
Located in Soquel, CA
Vibrant abstract of Berkeley Hills overlooking the city of Oakland, California by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Presented in a wood slat white frame. Signed lower right "Loran." ...
Acrylic, Canvas
$1,000
H 15 in W 17.5 in D 1 in
Early California modernist drawing by a well-known San Francisco abstract artist
By Erle Loran
Located in Colfax, CA
This is an energetic, colorful modernist study of two female figures in an interior, presumably a beach house in the summer. Erle Loran, (1905-1999), was an American painter and edu...
Oil Pastel
$1,000
H 17.2 in W 20.5 in D 1 in
American modernist drawing of a nude woman by a San Francisco Bay Area artist
By Erle Loran
Located in Colfax, CA
A figurative modernist drawing by American artist, writer, and educator, Erle Loran. Erle Loran, (1905-1999), was an American painter and educator who painted for the entirety of hi...
Paper, Ink