Louis Ribak Art

Oil on masonite. Signed lower right and on verso. 30 x 24 in. 31 x 25 in. (framed) Custom framed in maple. Louis Leon Ribak was born in the Russian empirical governorate of Grodno in 1902. A long-disputed region that is ethnically Lithuanian, at present day, Grodno is located in the western reaches of the Republic of Belarus, near the borders with Poland and Lithuania. At the age of ten, Ribak and his family immigrated to New York City. In 1922, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, followed by studies at the Art Students League (1923) and the Educational Alliance (1924). Ribak’s oeuvre can be largely delineated between two stylistic phases: social realism and abstraction, the former taking hold during the 1930s and 40s. During that period, he had several solo exhibitions at the A.C.A. Gallery in New York, while also regularly exhibiting with “An American Group Inc.” - a cohort of socially-conscious painters that included Stuart Davis, Reginald Marsh, Maurice Sterne, and Raphael Soyer. In 1933, Ribak assisted Diego Rivera on the mural for the lobby of Rockefeller Center, while also being employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a muralist. Louis Ribak met fellow artist Beatrice Mandelman at a dance sponsored by the Artists Union in New York. They were married in 1942, and shortly thereafter, he was drafted for military service in World War II. After his discharge from the service in 1942 due to difficulties with asthma, Mandelman and Ribak traveled west to visit his former mentor John Sloan in Santa Fe, NM. By this time, the couple had become disenchanted with the art scene in New York, and in light of the need to find a healthier climate for Ribak’s asthma - as well as reputed FBI surveillance based on political affiliations with Communist sympathizers - they decided to permanently relocate to the emerging artists’ colony of Taos, NM in 1944. This change of scenery ushered in the second phase of Ribak’s stylistic career, with his work shifting from social realism toward abstraction. He was captivated by the landscape and the diverse cultures of northern New Mexico, the influences of which began to appear in his work. Ribak founded the Taos Valley Art School in 1947, offering no ideology to his students; instead arguing that the adoption of a single approach would lead to academicism. Ribak was an integral force in the development of the Taos Moderns...

Casein on paper painting by Louis Leon Ribak (1902-1979) titled "Apache Dinner at Dulcea" depicting a Native American family gathered around a fire at nighttime. Painted in various s...

Watercolor and india ink on handmade paper dimensions are framed size, frame has 1/4 gold leaf profile with wood sides black red yellow mid century modern Louis Leon Ribak was born in the Lithuanian province of Grodno Gubernia in 1902. When he was ten, he immigrated with his family to New York City. In 1922 he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, in 1923 studied with John Sloan at the Art Students League and at the Educational Alliance in 1924. Sloan's influence guided Ribak's development. As an editor for the radical periodical, New Masses, Sloan encouraged Ribak to illustrate for the publication. In 1929, Ribak become a founding member of the John Reed Club, a group closely associated with New Masses. Ribak's work during the 1930s and early 1940s is dominated by social realism. His painting Coal Miners is in the permanent collection of the Jewish Museum, and Home Relief Station is in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. In the early 1930s Ribak had several one-man exhibitions at the A.C.A Gallery in New York and regularly exhibited with "An American Group Inc.", a group of socially conscious painters including Stuart Davis, Reginald Marsh, Maurice Sterne, Raphael Soyer, and others. In 1933 he assisted Diego Rivera on the mural for the lobby of Rockefeller Center, and in 1935 worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA) as a muralist. Ribak participated annually in the Whitney Museum's Exhibition of Contemporary American Art from its inception in 1932 until he left New York in 1944. In 1934 Ribak's work was chosen for the Venice Biennial. Louis Ribak met Beatrice Mandelman at a dance sponsored by the Artists Union and in 1942 they married. That same year, he was drafted for military service, but 2 years later he was released from service due to asthma. In 1944 the couple traveled west to visit John Sloan in Santa Fe and shortly after, moved to Taos. The move was prompted in part by the need for a healthier climate for Ribak but also because they had become dissatisfied with the New York scene due to "dissention between Social Realists and Abstract Expressionists." In New Mexico Ribak's artistic style underwent a transformation from Social Realism towards abstraction. He was captivated by the landscape and the diverse cultures of northern New Mexico. In 1947 Ribak founded the Taos Valley Art School. He offered no ideology to his students, arguing that taking any single approach would lead to academicism. Ribak was an integral force in the development of the Taos Moderns...

Illustrated: "Modernists in Taos: From Dasburg to Martin" by David L. Witt, Plate 48; Page 119 Provenance: Colorado National Bank (Later the US Bank Corporate Collection) Fra...