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)
$175,000
“Middleton Place II, 1974” Wolf Kahn, West Brattleboro, Vermont Barn Oil Canvas
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Yardley, PA
A fantastic early painting from Kahn’s iconic barn series depicting Dr. Middleton’s property in West Brattleboro, VT. Here, Kahn turns a familiar rural motif into something hovering ...
Canvas, Oil
Riverside Drive, New York
By Wolf Kahn
Located in Greenwich, CT
Unframed dimensions: 14 x 11 inches Framed dimensions: 18 3/4 x 16 inches signed lower left Capturing the way in which light coalesces around form, substantiating or dissolving it,...
Paper, Pastel
$9,500Sale Price|26% Off
"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...
Paper, Pastel
"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 ...
Paper, Pastel
$185,000
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...
Canvas, Oil
$7,500
Wolf Kahn - Ocean Cove, unique signed pastel on paper landscape painting 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...
Oil Pastel, Pastel
$1,200
H 12.5 in W 16.5 in D 1.25 in
A Charming 1950s Painting of Lisbon, Portugal by Famed Artist Francis Chapin
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Charming, 1950s Painting of Lisbon, Portugal by Famed Chicago Modern Artist Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Depicting a bustling, colorful view of Lisbon's historic Black Horse Sq...
Oil, Canvas, Board
$1,250
H 29.5 in W 37 in D 2 in
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...
Pastel
Remembering Plains no. 54
By Alyson Kinkade
Located in Loveland, CO
Remembering Plains no.54 by Alyson Kinkade 8" x 8" oil on linen ©2021 gallery wrapped, black sides The allure of the horizon of the Great Plains, where waves of colors meet sky. AB...
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$95,000
H 38 in W 48 in D 2 in
"Winter" American Modernism WPA Regionalism Landscape Mid-Century Magic Realism
By Dale Nichols
Located in New York, NY
"Winter" American Modernism WPA Regionalism Landscape Mid-Century Magic Realism. 30 x 40 inches. Oil on canvas, c. 1960s, Signed lower right. As we list the painting now, the work is currently being cleaned, restored and a hand carved frame is being built. Additional photos will be uploaded as soon as possible. Our gallery, Helicline Fine Art, just launched our new digital exhibition: American Art: The WPA and Beyond. Three dozen paintings, works on paper and sculptures which are available here on 1stDibs. In person viewings can be arranged by appointment at our midtown Manhattan gallery. Provenance: "Winter" was originally purchased by Stanley Byer. Mr. Byer owned homes in Key West, New York City, and Washington, D.C. He purchased the painting from Dunning Auction in 1984 in Elgin, Illinois. Mr. Byer was related to Abraham Weiss from Florida. Saul Babbin, now deceased was a cousin of Mr. Weiss. I purchased the painting from Joy Babbin, Mr. Babbin's wife, now living in from New Mexico. Dale Nichols (1905 – 1995) Artist, printmaker, illustrator, watercolorist, designer, writer and lecturer, Nichols did paintings that reflected his rural background of Nebraska where he was born in David City, a small town. Although he did much sketching outdoors, most of his paintings were completed in his studio and often included "numerology, magic squares...
Canvas, Oil
$644Sale Price|38% Off
H 29.5 in W 21.25 in
Park XV & XVI - SET (Berlin artist, Postwar, Contemporary, Abstract)
By Barbara Keidel
Located in Kansas City, MO
Barbara Keidel Park XV & XVI - SET Mixed media, pastel on handmade, toned laid paper 1997 Size: 29.5 × 21.25 inches (75 × 54 cm) (each) Signed and dated in pencil (each) Addition...
Pastel, Mixed Media, Laid Paper
$1,012
H 19.75 in W 25.75 in
Provence House with Cypress Trees Pastel Pierre Neveu 1982
By Pierre Neveu
Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Title: Provence House with Cypress Trees Pastel Pierre Neveu 1982 Artist: Pierre Neveu (French b.1929) Medium: Pastel on paper, unframed Size (H x W): 19.75 x 25.75 inches Signed low...
Oil Pastel, Pastel, Pencil
$8,500
H 38 in W 48 in D 2 in
"War Brides, Wash Sq NYC" American Scene WWII Modernism WPA Mid-Century Oil
By Georgina Klitgaard
Located in New York, NY
"War Brides, Wash Sq NYC" American Scene WWII Modernism WPA Mid-Century Oil. 30 x 40 inches. Oil on canvas, c. 1942. Signed lower right. Titled on the stretcher. Housed in a sensational Heydenryk frame. Our gallery, Helicline Fine Art...
Canvas, Oil
$2,908
H 15.75 in W 39.38 in D 1.97 in
In My Heart, Contemporary Oil on Canvas Landscape Painting, Framed, 21st Century
By Sonja Brussen
Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant
Sonja Brussen – In My Heart Oil on canvas 40 x 100 cm Framed in a white wooden frame Overall dimensions with frame: 42 x 102 cm Frame included in the price In My Heart is an orig...
Oil, Canvas
$453
H 16.15 in W 13 in D 0.04 in
Hidden Poppy. Floral, Mixed media, Miniature Painting
By Tatiana Hellum
Located in Oslo, NO
"In this semi abstract floral painting I wanted to create a feeling of being inside a garden rather than looking at it from the outside," said Tatiana about this painting, "I built t...
Paper, Oil Pastel
$1,600
H 24 in W 29 in D 0.13 in
A Dynamic Mid-Century Modern Manhattan Scene, New York City by Francis Chapin
By Francis Chapin
Located in Chicago, IL
A Large, Dynamic 1950s Mid-Century Modern Watercolor of Lower Manhattan, New York City by Noted Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). The image is watercolor, pastel and c...
Watercolor, Archival Paper, Charcoal, Pastel
$1,960Sale Price|20% Off
H 30 in W 24 in
Dreamscape, Abstract Impressionist Painting, Pastel on Paper, 30x24 inches
By Betty Efferson
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
Escape into a world literally made from dreams by placing this 30x24 pastel piece into any room where you may find yourself needing a distraction - such as an office or work space. ...
Oil Pastel, Archival Paper
$78,000
H 51 in W 33 in D 2 in
Summer Resort in Michigan -Modernist Mid-Century Saugatuck Oil Painting
By William Schwartz
Located in Marco Island, FL
Summer Resort in Michigan is an exceptional work painted by the Chicago Modernist, William Schwartz. He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago shortly ...
Canvas, Oil
Fall Splendor by Wolf Kahn
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New Orleans, LA
Wolf Kahn 1927-2020 American Fall Splendor Signed "W Kahn" (lower center) Oil on canvas A masterwork of modern American landscape painting, Fall Splendor exemplifies Wolf Kahn's ...
Canvas, Oil
Arborium by Wolf Kahn
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New Orleans, LA
Wolf Kahn 1927-2020 American Arborium Signed "W Kahn" (lower right) Oil on canvas A masterwork of modern American landscape painting, Arborium exemplifies Wolf Kahn's revolutiona...
Canvas, Oil
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...
Pastel, Paper
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 ...
Paper, Pastel
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...
Canvas, Oil
"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, ...
Paper, Pastel
Sold
H 15.75 in W 17.25 in
"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...
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.”
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,...
Paper, Pastel
Sold
H 15.5 in W 17.5 in
"Strong Pink" Wolf Kahn, Vermont Landscape with Trees, Pastels
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Strong Pink, 2000 Signed lower center Pastel on paper 8 x 10 inches An important member of the second generation New York School, Wolf Kahn is renowned for his luminous, r...
Paper, Pastel
Sold
H 34 in W 40 in
"Barns and Silos in New Jersey" Wolf Kahn, Landscape, Abstract Impressionist
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Barns and Silos in New Jersey, 1985 Signed lower center Oil on canvas 28 x 34 inches An important member of the second generation New York School, Wolf Kahn is renowned fo...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 15.5 in W 18.25 in D 1.25 in
Roughly Textured Trees (unique signed landscape color field pastel painting)
By Wolf Kahn
Located in New York, NY
Wolf Kahn Roughly Textured Trees, 1995 Oil pastel on paper Hand signed in pastel by Wolf Kahn on the bottom front Frame included: held in the original vintage metal frame Hand signe...
Oil Pastel, Pastel