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Ronald Brooks Kitaj

American, 1932-2007
Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1932, R.B. (Ronald Brooks) Kitaj is considered a key figure in European and American contemporary painting. While his work has been considered controversial, he is regarded as a master draftsman with a commitment to figurative art. His highly personal paintings and drawings reflect his deep interest in history; cultural, social and political ideologies; and issues of identity. Among his various honors are election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1982, and election to the Royal Academy in 1985 (the first American since John Singer Sargent to receive this honor.) Numerous retrospective exhibitions of his work include shows at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.; The Jewish Museum, Berlin; The Jewish Museum, London; and the Hamburger Kunsthalle in Germany. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and Troy, New York, Kitaj joined the Merchant Marines in 1949.
In 1950, between sailings, he attended classes at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York. He went on to study drawing at the Academy of Fine Art in Vienna, Austria. Kitaj moved to Oxford, England in 1957, and enrolled at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford. In 1959, Kitaj was accepted into Royal College of Art, London, where he befriended classmate David Hockney. Upon graduation from the RCA, Kitaj signed with Marlborough Fine Art, London, where he had his first solo exhibition in 1963. His art career began in earnest, and he found critical acclaim alongside commercial success. A second solo show followed at Marlborough Gallery, New York, in 1965, and he sold “The Ohio Gang” to The Museum of Modern Art. In 1969, Kitaj taught for a year at the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1976, he coined the term “School of London” in an essay he wrote as curator of the polemical exhibition, “The Human Clay,” at the Hayward Gallery, London. The term, though loose, continues to define a group of stylistically diverse artists, including Kitaj, who were working in London at that time focusing on figural representation. In 1981, he spent a year in Paris, France, where he focused on drawing and use of pastel. In 1994, the Tate Gallery, London, organized a major retrospective of Kitaj’s work. Hostile and personal attacks from some critics led to what Kitaj referred to as the “Tate War.” The exhibition subsequently traveled to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Kitaj moved to Los Angeles, California, and continued to exhibit with Marlborough Fine Art and the Marlborough Gallery, New York. In 2001 the National Gallery London organized a solo exhibition of paintings: “R.B. Kitaj In the Aura of Cezanne and Other Masters.” Kitaj focused on his “late style” in his Yellow Studio in Westwood and died in 2007. His gift of his archive to the UCLA Library Special Collections was celebrated with exhibitions at the Skirball Cultural Center and UCLA’s Young Research Library.
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Creator: Ronald Brooks Kitaj
R.B. Kitaj, The cultural value of fear, distrust and hypochondria, 1964-1966
R.B. Kitaj, The cultural value of fear, distrust and hypochondria, 1964-1966

R.B. Kitaj, The cultural value of fear, distrust and hypochondria, 1964-1966

$1,440Sale Price|20% Off

R.B. Kitaj, The cultural value of fear, distrust and hypochondria, 1964-1966

By Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Located in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT R.B. Kitaj, The cultural value of fear, distrust and hypochondria. Screenprint Edition of 70 Signed in pencil lower right. Unframed. Color lithograph on different types of pa...

Category

Mid-20th Century British Folk Art Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Materials

Paper

Original Vintage Sport Poster Munich Summer Olympics 1972 Swimming RB Kitaj
Original Vintage Sport Poster Munich Summer Olympics 1972 Swimming RB Kitaj

Original Vintage Sport Poster Munich Summer Olympics 1972 Swimming RB Kitaj

$1,035

Original Vintage Sport Poster Munich Summer Olympics 1972 Swimming RB Kitaj

By Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Located in London, GB

Original vintage sports poster for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich - Olympische Spiele Munchen - designed by the painter and printmaker Kitaj (Ronald Brooks Kitaj; 1932-2007) depi...

Category

1970s German Vintage Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Materials

Paper

R.B. Kitaj, Cutie, 17/70, Screenprint 1974
R.B. Kitaj, Cutie, 17/70, Screenprint 1974

R.B. Kitaj, Cutie, 17/70, Screenprint 1974

$1,800

R.B. Kitaj, Cutie, 17/70, Screenprint 1974

By Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Located in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT R.B. Kitaj, Cutie 1974 Edition of 70 Signed and numbered 17/70 in pencil lower left. Unframed. CREATOR R.B. Kitaj, United Kingdom. DATE OF MANUFACTURE c.1974 MA...

Category

Mid-20th Century British Folk Art Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Materials

Paper

R.B. Kitaj, Turk Sib: The Most Important Film Ever Made, Signed 1972
R.B. Kitaj, Turk Sib: The Most Important Film Ever Made, Signed 1972

R.B. Kitaj, Turk Sib: The Most Important Film Ever Made, Signed 1972

$850Sale Price|22% Off

R.B. Kitaj, Turk Sib: The Most Important Film Ever Made, Signed 1972

By Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Located in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT R.B. Kitaj, Turk Sib: The Most Important Film Ever Made, Screenprint Edition of 70 Signed and numbered 63/70 in pencil lower right. Unframed. CREATOR R.B. Kitaj, United ...

Category

Mid-20th Century British Folk Art Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Materials

Paper

R.B. Kitaj, Civic Virtue All Over The Floor, 53/100, Screenprint, 1967
R.B. Kitaj, Civic Virtue All Over The Floor, 53/100, Screenprint, 1967

R.B. Kitaj, Civic Virtue All Over The Floor, 53/100, Screenprint, 1967

$1,440Sale Price|20% Off

R.B. Kitaj, Civic Virtue All Over The Floor, 53/100, Screenprint, 1967

By Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Located in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT R.B. Kitaj, Civic Virtue All Over The Floor Screenprint, Serigraphy. Edition of 100. 53/100. Signed in pencil lower left. Unframed. CREATOR R.B. Kitaj, United Kingdom. ...

Category

Mid-20th Century British Folk Art Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Materials

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R.B. Kitaj, The Adding Machine, 63/70 Screenprint 1972
R.B. Kitaj, The Adding Machine, 63/70 Screenprint 1972

R.B. Kitaj, The Adding Machine, 63/70 Screenprint 1972

$1,395Sale Price|22% Off

R.B. Kitaj, The Adding Machine, 63/70 Screenprint 1972

By Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Located in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT R.B. Kitaj, The Adding Machine, Edition of 70, Signed and numbered 63/70 in pencil lower right. Unframed. Printed by Kelpra Studios, London, with their ink stamp on the back. ...

Category

Mid-20th Century British Folk Art Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Materials

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R.B. Kitaj, Portrait, 13/70 Color Silkscreen 1970-1974
R.B. Kitaj, Portrait, 13/70 Color Silkscreen 1970-1974

R.B. Kitaj, Portrait, 13/70 Color Silkscreen 1970-1974

$1,595Sale Price|33% Off

R.B. Kitaj, Portrait, 13/70 Color Silkscreen 1970-1974

By Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Located in San Francisco, CA

ABOUT R.B. Kitaj, Portrait, Edition of 70, Color silkscreen. Signed and numbered 13/70 in pencil upper right. Unframed. CREATOR R.B. Kitaj, United Kingdom and USA. DATE O...

Category

Mid-20th Century British Folk Art Ronald Brooks Kitaj

Materials

Paper

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Ronald Brooks Kitaj furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Ronald Brooks Kitaj furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of paper and are designed with extraordinary care. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Martin Parr, Robert E. McGinnis, and Peter Strausfeld. Prices for Ronald Brooks Kitaj furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $956 and can go as high as $956, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $956.