Skip to main content

Wolf Kahn Art

German, 1927-2020

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1927, Wolf Kahn fled Nazi Germany to Britain through the Kindertransport in the late 1930s. He eventually settled in the United States, where he completed high school and enrolled in the Navy. Following his service, he studied with the legendary teacher and Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann, eventually becoming his studio assistant.

In 1950, Kahn enrolled at the University of Chicago and completed his bachelor of arts degree within one year. He had his first solo exhibition at Hansa Gallery in New York City in 1953 and went on to be represented by Grace Borgenicht Gallery, where he exhibited regularly until 1995.

Kahn was the recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship, the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, the Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Medal of Arts from the State Department. He married the artist Emily Mason in 1957. Their marriage lasted sixty-two years until Emily’s death in December 2019, just a few months before Kahn's passing. The pair lived and worked between New York City and W. Brattleboro, Vermont.

Kahn’s work has been exhibited at galleries and museums throughout North America. His work is held in important museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Find authentic Wolf Kahn paintings and prints on 1stDibs.

(Biography provided by Miles McEnery Gallery)

to
3
7
6
1
1
4
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
11
7
1
3
4
2
5
4
3
1
15
3
1
4
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
9
9
8
3
3
19
10,164
2,783
2,504
1,379
16
2
18
Artist: Wolf Kahn
Wolf Kahn - Hillside in Early Summer, print for the UN, Pencil Signed/N, Framed
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn - Hillside in Early Summer, print for the United Nations (WFUNA) Limited edition print commissioned by the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) Archival ...
Category

1990s Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Archival Pigment

Landscape in Orange and Turquoise Pastel, Signed, 13x16 Inches
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Provenance The Artist Private Collection, NY (acquired from the above) Private Collection, CT (by descent) Signed in bottom center: W Kahn Wolf Kahn was born in Stuttgart, Germany i...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Expressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Glade, 2009
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Oil on canvas 52 x 36 inches (132.1 x 91.4 cm) Framed dimensions: 53 1/4 x 37 1/4 in Dated and inscribed on verso: 2009/42 Provenance Morrison Gallery, Kent, CT; Private collection,...
Category

Early 2000s Modern Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Oil

Glade, 2009
Glade, 2009
$100,000 Sale Price
20% Off
"Summer Studio" Wolf Kahn, Vermont Landscape, Abstract Impressionist, Pastels
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Summer Studio, 2012 Signed lower center Pastel on paper 9 x 11 1/2 inches An important member of the second generation New York School, Wolf ...
Category

2010s Abstract Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Corps de Ballet
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Signed, original, 1994, oil–on-canvas painting, Corps de Ballet by significant American artist, Wolf Kahn (b. 1927). Winner: Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships. Award in Art from...
Category

Late 20th Century Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Art Card: Wolf Kahn, High Summer 1972 (Hand signed, dated and inscribed to Tom)
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Art Card: Wolf Kahn, High Summer 1972 (Hand signed, dated and inscribed) Offset lithograph card 1972, ca. 1988 Hand signed, dated 2/96 and inscribed "For Tom" in black marker on the ...
Category

1970s Color-Field Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Postcard

20th century landscape pastel drawing colorful grass path hills sky signed
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Milwaukee, WI
'Study for Connecticut at Putney' is an original pastel drawing by American artist Wolf Kahn. The landscape is an exploration of color and light: it is rendered in cool blues and purples with fields of subtle yellow, the pastels treated with the same gesture as Kahn's paintbrush on a canvas. Indeed, this pastel was a study executed en plein air for a painting – the painting now sometimes called 'Bend in the River' – that he later created in the studio. This process of creating studies, selecting the best of the studies, and then recreating them as paintings was typical of Kahn's studio process and makes this pastel a significant example of the artist's creative output. 9 x 11 inches, artwork 15.5 x 18.13 inches, frame Signed 'W. Kahn' lower right Framed to conservation standards using archival materials including 100 percent rag matting. Housed in a gold finish wood moulding. Acquired directly from the artist. Wolf Kahn, the youngest of four siblings, was born into a well-to-do artistic family. His father was the conductor of the Stuttgart Philharmonic Symphony, and his mother came from a family of art collectors.(1) During 1938, Kahn took his first art lessons, but most of his initial drawings were of military or historical events. The next year Kahn was sent to England for safety following the ascendancy of Hitler to power, and in 1940, he immigrated to the United States. In 1942, he entered New York's High School of Music and Art, and while there, he was employed by a commercial art firm doing illustrations. After a stint in the Navy, Kahn entered Hans Hofmann's school, and among his fellow students were Neil Blaine, Jane Freilicher, Allan Kaprow and Larry Rivers. His initial results were done with a dark palette and abstracted forms, and although Hofmann's style of teaching was difficult, Kahn has consistently praised him for teaching him the value of control and understanding.(2) Kahn's first exhibition was a 1951 group show in a loft with several other artists in lower Manhattan. From this impromptu show, a group effort evolved called the Hansa Gallery Cooperative.(3) In 1953, Wolf Kahn had a one-man show at this gallery, which was reviewed by Fairfield Porter, and at this same time bolder, more vivid colors began to appear in his work. By the mid-1950's, on a summer trip to Provincetown, Kahn's paintings indicated a new direction of softening warm colors in the manner of Bonnard. He was included in Meyer Shapiro's seminal exhibition, The New York School: The Second Generation at the Jewish Museum, and by the end of the 1950s, he had developed his abstracted landscape style for which he is best known. In 1966, he made his first "barn" painting on Martha's Vineyard that reduced the complexities of detail of the architecture to a more basic shape, a stylistic convention that is evident in the Museum's painting. Kahn has since commented frequently on his use of color as a unique and specific component of each work as the situation demands, where the gradual buildup of the colors resembles the beauty and translucent nature of pastels.(4) Since then Kahn has had one-person exhibitions at the Kansas City Art Institute, Chrysler Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum, among others. His work is in the permanent collections of numerous museums throughout the United States. Footnotes: 1. Much of the biographical information is drawn from Justin Spring, Wolf Kahn (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996). 2. Spring, 21. Wolf Kahn draws this from a 1973 address to the College Art Association. 3. This group included Jane Wilson...
Category

1970s Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Wolf Kahn, Emily Mason & The Baby II (Grace Borgenicht Gallery) unique signed
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Emily & The Baby II (Grace Borgenicht Gallery), 1960 Pastel on Paper. Hand signed on the front. Grace Borgenicht gallery label on the back Vintage frame included Proven...
Category

1960s Modern Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Pastel

Ocean Cove, unique signed pastel painting by renowned artist Wolf Kahn FRAMED
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Ocean Cove, 1996 Pastel on paper painting Hand signed and dated by Wolf Kahn on the lower right Frame included: elegantly matted and framed in a wood frame with UV plexigla...
Category

1990s Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Pastel

Sunlit Hill, 2006
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn paints a row of trees with the sun peeking out from underneath in his stellar oil painting entitled “Sunlit Hill.”
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Modern Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"The Winter Valley" Purple and Brown Toned Winter Landscape Townscape
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Houston, TX
Blue, purple, and green toned winter landscape pastel drawing by German-American painter, Wolf Kahn. Signed by the artist in the lower right corner. Framed and matted in a gold frame...
Category

1980s Abstract Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

"Umbria, " Pastel signed by Wolf Kahn
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Umbria" is a landscape pastel by American artist Wolf Kahn. Green hills and trees dominate the composition as a light blue sky evens it out almost exactly in the middle. Titled and ...
Category

1970s Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Pastel

Hardback monograph book with dust jacket: Wolf Kahn (hand signed by Wolf Kahn)
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn (hand signed by Wolf Kahn), 2011 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (hand signed by Wolf Kahn) Hand signed by Wolf Kahn on the title page 13 × 12 × 1 1/2 inches This gorge...
Category

2010s Color-Field Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset

Bay with Boats Color Monotype unique signed abstract color field landscape frame
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Bay with Boats, 1987 Color monotype on Somerset white wove paper Hand signed and dated by Wolf Kahn on the lower right front, bears labels on the back Frame Included: matte...
Category

1980s Color-Field Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Lithograph, Monotype

"Four Winds" Blue House with White Roof in Yellow Field Abstract Landscape
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Houston, TX
Abstract drawing of a blue house in a yellow field by German-American painter, Wolf Kahn. Signed and dated by the artist in the lower right corner. Framed and matted in a silver wood...
Category

1980s Abstract Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Wolf Kahn, Memorial Bridge, Springfield, Mass, signed, dated & inscribed, Framed
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Untitled, 1982 Original Etching 10 × 15 inches Edition AP (aside from the regular edition of 90) pencil signed, dated and inscribed to Cynthia Frame included: Ships framed ...
Category

1980s Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Etching

Wolf Kahn's America (Hand signed and inscribed illustrated hardback monograph)
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Wolf Kahn's America (Hand signed and inscribed), 2003 Hand signed and dedicated hardback monograph with dust jacket Boldly signed in ink with heartfelt personal dedication ...
Category

Early 2000s Color-Field Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset

Dark Pines
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Wolf Kahn (1927-2020) was a German-born American artist acclaimed for his stylized landscapes, which blend natural realism with the celebration of color in the spirit of Color Field ...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Screen

Machias Seal Island Light
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Milwaukee, WI
Wolf Kahn was commissioned by the Smithsonian to design a postcard for them. He made four designs and they selected a singular one. This drawing here is one of the few rejected designs. This piece was given to the founder, David Barnett, of the David Barnett Gallery...
Category

19th Century American Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Related Items
Vintage Southwest Adobe Landscape Original Pastel Painting c.1985
Located in San Francisco, CA
Vintage Southwest Adobe Landscape Original Pastel Painting c.1985 Outstanding late 20th century pastel painting by mystery artist. The painting is s...
Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Pastel

Cornish Coast or Coast of Cornwall
By Charles Herbert Woodbury
Located in Milford, NH
A fine impressionist beach scene by American artist Charles Herbert Woodbury (1864-1940). Woodbury was born in Lynn, MA, and sold his first painting when he was fifteen years old and...
Category

Early 1900s American Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Spanish landscape post impressionism oil on canvas painting Spain Europe
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Benito Magallón (1947-2011) - Landscape - Oil on canvas Oil measurements 54x65 cm. Frameless. Benito Magallón was born in Cascante, Navarra, in 1947. At the age of 6 he went to live...
Category

1980s Post-Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Crescendo - Impressionist Wave Pastel Painting
By Dina Gardner
Located in Boston, MA
Crescendo 24.0 x 12.0 x 1.0, 4.0 lbs Pastel on archival paper Hand signed by artist Artist's Commentary: "Chasing light is what artists do. Sometimes Mother Nature cooperates a...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Pastel

A brooding American modernist landscape painting with a house or outbuilding
Located in Colfax, CA
A nice American modernist landscape painting, dating from the 1940s. This work is on the manner of E. Oscar Thalinger, but does not appear to be signed. The work is unframed, as it...
Category

1940s American Modern Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Oil

"Montauk Point Lighthouse" Antique 19th Century Academic Oil Painting on Canvas
By Francis Augustus Silva
Located in Jacksonville, FL
Signed lower left corner Painting Size: 9.13″ x 18.20″ Frame Size: 14.13″ x 20.13″ Francis Augustus Silva (1835-1886) was a prominent American artist renowned for his remarkable ability to paint boats and seascapes...
Category

19th Century Academic Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Large contemporary abstract expressive floral spring painting oil on canvas
Located in VÉNISSIEUX, FR
This abstract expressive floral artwork, titled "The Emergence of Spring," is part of my new small collection called "Primavera", dedicated to the vibrant and rejuvenating season of ...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Oil Pastel

Landscape with a Cart Path
By Theodore Victor Carl Valenkamph
Located in Milford, NH
A fine New England landscape with a cart path and birch tree by Swedish-American artist Theodore Victor Carl Valenkamph (1868-1924). Valenkamph was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and emi...
Category

Early 1900s American Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hand painted Limited Edition-Rare Square format-British Awarded Artist-Rosarian
Located in London, GB
This stunning extra large hand painted Edition offers a grand scale visual treat to your space and enrich your daily life. Limited Edition only 3 are published, and it's surreal vs a...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Gesso, Archival Ink, Acrylic, Archival Paper, Giclée

All I Think About Is You, flowers, wildflowers, landscape, Joan Mitchell, pink
Located in Jönköping, SE
This painting is from my series titled "The Untethered Soul." This series delves into the transformative power of nature, capturing the essence of what one feels rather than sees. In...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Oil Crayon, Acrylic, Carbon Pencil

Hurricane in the Afternoon original Oil
Located in Soquel, CA
Hurricane in the Afternoon original Oil Modernist look at a Hurricane coming by Pennsylvania artist John R. Fell (American/English, 1917-2009) Image 18"H x 48"W Frame 19"H x 49"L x ...
Category

1960s American Modern Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Mid Century Bay Area Abstract Expressionist -- Oak Woodlands of Golden Gate Park
By Honora Berg
Located in Soquel, CA
Bay Area Abstract Expressionist -- Oak Woodlands of San Francisco Golden Gate Park This mid-century painting by Honora Berg (American, 1897-1985) depicts coastal live oaks of Golden...
Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Archival Paper, Oil Crayon, Watercolor

Previously Available Items
Venice by Wolf Kahn
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New Orleans, LA
Wolf Kahn 1927-2020 American Venice Signed "W Kahn" (lower right) Pastel on paper An exceptionally rare early work by one of America’s preeminent colorists, this pastel captures ...
Category

20th Century Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Venice by Wolf Kahn
Venice by Wolf Kahn
H 28.75 in W 34.75 in D 1.5 in
Barn and Forsythia III
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Toronto, Ontario
Wolf Kahn (1927-2020) was a German-born American artist acclaimed for his powerful landscapes, which masterfully combine elements of natural realism with the celebration of color emb...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Screen

Wolf Kahn, Red Barns, rare 1980 color lithograph, hand signed 45/50, Framed
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Red Barns, 1980 Color Lithograph on wove paper Hand signed, dated, and numbered 45/50 by the artist on the front Original vintage wood frame included Classic 1980 Wolf Kahn...
Category

1980s Color-Field Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Lithograph

Blau-Grün (Blue-Green) unique pastel painting hand signed, authenticated, Framed
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Blau-Grün (Blue-Green), 2000 Pastel painting on paper Signed on the lower left front Frame included: elegantly framed in a museum quality white wood frame with UV plexiglas...
Category

Early 2000s Color-Field Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Pastel

Down in the Valley by Wolf Kahn (Purple and blue landscape)
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
'Down in the Valley' is a screen print on wove paper created by Second Generation New York School artist, Wolf Kahn (1927 – 2020). As a child of German-Jewish parents, Kahn emigrate...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Screen

Foggy Morning By Wolf Kahn
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New Orleans, LA
Wolf Kahn 1927-2020 American/German Foggy Morning Signed "W. Kahn" (lower left) Oil on canvas Beloved for his strikingly vivid and colorful landscapes, Wolf Kahn is one of the mo...
Category

20th Century Post-Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Wolf Kahn-Barn and Forsythia III-Signed
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This limited edition print titled Barn and Forsythia III by renowned artist Wolf Kahn was printed by Brand X on Somerset Textured Rag paper and published by the Lincoln Center for th...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Screen

2003 Wolf Kahn 'Down in the Valley' SIGNED
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Brooklyn, NY
"Wolf Kahn Down in The Valley" is a serigraph that exemplifies Kahn's mastery of light and color, hallmarks of his artistic style. This piece, signed and numbered AP out of 18 in the...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Screen

"Purple Hills" Wolf Kahn, Vermont Meadow Landscape, Pastels
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Purple Hills Pastel on paper 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches Provenance: Collection of Stafford Elias Christies New York, Interiors, December 13, 2017, Lot 343 Private Collection, ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

"Behind Reeds" Wolf Kahn, Vermont Marsh Landscape with Trees and Barn, Pastels
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Behind Reeds, 2004 Signed lower left Pastel on paper 7 x 9 inches Provenance: The artist Ameringer McEnery Yohe Gallery, New York Private Collection, Florida An important...
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Beaver Swamp in Autumn, 1975
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn paints a marshy forest landscape in his signature modern style in his oil painting entitled, “Beaver Swamp in Autumn.”
Category

Late 20th Century Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Dark Diagonal" Wolf Kahn, Vermont Landscape with Trees, Pastels
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Dark Diagonal, 2012 Signed lower center Pastel on paper 9 x 12 inches An important member of the second generation New York School, Wolf Kahn is renowned for his luminous,...
Category

2010s Abstract Impressionist Wolf Kahn Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Wolf Kahn art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Wolf Kahn art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of orange, green and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Wolf Kahn in crayon, pastel, oil paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Wolf Kahn art, so small editions measuring 6 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Friedel Dzubas, Mala Breuer, and Maureen Chatfield. Wolf Kahn art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $595 and tops out at $295,000, while the average work can sell for $19,000.

Artists Similar to Wolf Kahn

Questions About Wolf Kahn Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 16, 2024
    How Wolf Kahn painted changed over the years. Throughout his career, Kahn achieved depth and texture by thinning his paint and building up his compositions with layers of brushstrokes. Toward the end of his life, he switched to using oil sticks, which allowed for more saturated colors. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Wolf Kahn art.

Still Thinking About These?

All Recently Viewed