William Malherbe Art

Born in Russia, the son of Friede (1878 – 1956) and Benjamin Hoffman (1878 – a. 1942). Benjamin was a dealer in mineral and seltzer water and the family resided on Snediker Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, just down the streetfrom the home where George Gershwin (1898 – 1937) was born. This area of Brooklyn, known as Brownsville, “witnessed the development of one of the largest communities of Eastern European Jewish immigrants during the last decade of the 19th century and the first two decades of the 20 th century.” Today, little remains of this once thriving Jewish section of Brooklyn, which today houses many commercial and repair businesses. Hoffman studied at the Art Students League of New York, the National Academy of Design and in the art program at Cooper Union. His work at the National Academy received praise, and in 1921 he was awarded the 2nd prize and an honorable mention from the John Armstrong Chaloner Paris Prize Foundation at the National Academy, which allowed the recipient to study in Paris, France for as long as five years. The following year he was awarded the 1 st prize in the competition (with The Reform Advocate running the headline “Young Jew Wins Art Prize”) as well as the Suydam Bronze Medal for his achievements in the Academy’s Men’s Night Class. In 1923 he was residing in Long Branch, New Jersey, when he was awarded 4th place in the Chaloner competition. Early on, Hoffman exhibited his work throughout the city, including in 1925 with the recently organized Society of Independent Artists. He also received several solo exhibitions during the first part of his career, including one at Ferargil Galleries in 1929. In the spring of 1930 a solo exhibition of his portraits, including paintings and drawings, was held at at Babcock Galleries, where a reviewer noted: “Portraiture is obviously Mr. Hoffman’s specialty… his best work is characterized by a sensitive appreciation of character set down in a vigorous decisive statement. Later that same year, in August, he participated in Babcock’s summer exhibition where reviewer Jerome Klein, writing for The Baltimore Sun, felt Hoffman’s and other artists work was already becoming old fashioned, remarking “…if an effort toward accomplishment is to be made, it must be in the language of today. It is for that reason that such contemporaries as Eugene Higgins and Nathan Hoffman, in this show, seem artists of a bygone era…” The onset of the Great Depression appears to have slowed his success, as was the case for many up-and-coming artists. By 1939 Hoffman had become a gallerist in addition to being a painter, operating the collective exhibition space “Sutton Gallery,” which was originally located at 358 East 57th Street. There Hoffman exhibited his own works as well as those created by other prominent New York artists including David Burliuk (1882 – 1967), Charles C. Curran (1861 – 1942), Louis Eilshemius (1864 – 1941), Ann Goldthwaite (1869 – 1944), Maurice Kish (1895 – 1987), Lawrence Lebduska (1894 – 1966), Bradford Perin and Ellis Wilson...

Multi-colored figurative oil painting of a woman in bikini bathing in the California sun by listed California artist Jon Blanchette (American, 1908-1987). The colorful background is...

Portrait in profile with blue

Louis Valtat 1869-1952 French Vase Anémones et Citrons, Draperie (Vase with Anemones and Lemons, Drapery) Signed "L. Valtat" (lower left) Oil on canvas Extraordinarily vibrant, t...

In this oil painting, I embraced the enchanting dance of light and form. With each brushstroke, I sought to capture the delicate interplay of shadows and textures on the human figure...

Gabriel Casarrubios Martín (1953) - Beach's day - Oil on panel Oil size 19x33 cm. Frameless. Gabriel Casarrubios Martín (1953) The Toledo artist trained in Fine Arts in Madrid, at ...

This mandarin tree, laden with small luminous fruits, is presented as a quiet meditation on care, time, and abundance. Rendered in layered, textured oil, the potted tree rests on a w...

“Jamaican Girl by the Palm Tree, c. 1930” by Will Howe Foote (American, 1874-1965) A fantastic portrait of a young Jamaican woman set against a vibrant palm frond, painted by the re...

Jacqueline Marval was close friends with Kees van Dongen and her work is of the same school as, Matisse and Marie Laurencin. Les Odalisques is quite contemporary looking with it's main figure having joyful life and vitality to her. Some refer to her as a Fauve and some as a post-impressionist. Clearly, she is an overlooked female artist. This work is over...

Title: Spring in Cadaqués Author: Rafael Duran Benet (1931–2005) Technique: Oil on canvas board Dimensions: 14.96 x 18.11 in Signature: Signed "R. Duran" in the lower left corner Dat...

This compelling early 20th-century portrait depicts a young woman shown in three-quarter profile, her gaze cast slightly downward in a moment of quiet introspection. Rendered in oil ...

“Jamaican Girl with Curls, c. 1935” by Will Howe Foote (American, 1874-1965) An exceptional example of early 20th-century American Impressionism executed with sensitivity, grace, an...