Skip to main content

Zygmund Jankowski Art

American, 1925-2009
Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) was a dedicated and innovative painter, a colorful and generous personality, and a loved and respected teacher. His paintings have been exhibited nationally and internationally, and he has become one of the most important artists of his time on Cape Ann, Massachusetts, influential both as a painter and as the colleague and teacher of a generation of artists. He was born into a Catholic family in South Bend, Indiana, where he raised a family and earned a living as a commercial illustrator. He began to summer on Cape Ann in 1964 and by the late 1970s had moved permanently to Gloucester, where he devoted the rest of his life to his art. During his career, Jankowski explored a variety of styles. In the mature work, he is best described as a colorist and expressionist who paints traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional colors, compositions, and perspectives. He disparaged imitation and delighted in breaking the so-called rules of art — not in rebellion, but from a deep understanding that perceived their limitations. He cultivated an intuitive, uninhibited painting process which allowed him to transcend conventions without rejecting them. He worked in series, painting the same subject up to twenty times in a day. “I could do the same subject a thousand times,” he said. “Each time I try it, there’s something different in me that responds.” He neither planned nor sketched his paintings, but romanced each one anew, often to music, dancing with it, lunging at it, stroking it. While painting, he said, “you stand as a referee between the scene, your emotions, and the [painting], juggling emotion and logic, intuition and analysis.” He said his brush was a musical instrument; or he called painting foreplay and a painting the child of an artist and his subject. “For Zyg,” says a friend, “art was life, and life was art.” Having artistic talent, he said, entails an obligation to get to work, and the choice to be an artist was a serious responsibility to a journey of self-discovery, seeking the mystery within oneself as well as within the subject. “Stay up late and do some work,” he exhorted artists. “Grab at life! Work as if five hundred years wouldn’t be enough to do all you want to do.” With tireless commitment to his art, Jankowski expressed his playfulness and wit, his generosity of spirit, and his exuberance for life in the vivid and unexpected colors and compositions of his paintings. In Jankowski’s thoughtfully spontaneous process, one can discern a happy marriage of Catholic mysticism and obligation with the principles of Zen calligraphy, in which a few unpremeditated brushstrokes embody years of devoted study and practice. “If I’ve lost some of my religion,” he said tellingly, “my art has become all that much more important.”
to
1
9
9
8
8
1
1
Wine Bottles and Fruit on Table
Wine Bottles and Fruit on Table

Wine Bottles and Fruit on Table

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...

Category

1980s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Still Life with Settee
Still Life with Settee

Still Life with Settee

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...

Category

1980s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Zygmund Jankowski, Come Fly with Me
Zygmund Jankowski, Come Fly with Me

Zygmund Jankowski, Come Fly with Me

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in New York, NY

Zygmund Jankowski is known for his modernist compositions and effective use of “the white of the paper.” 'Come Fly with Me' perfectly illustrates that skill; It is signed, titled, and dated in pencil. Jankowski was born in South Bend, Indiana. After serving in the US Navy Jankowski attended the California College of Arts and Crafts, where studied with Victor DeWilde, Otis Oldfield, and George Post. Returning to the mid-west he taught at Indiana University, South Western Michigan College, Hilton Leech School of Art, the Bremen Art Center, the Niles Art Center, the South Bend Art Association, and the Rockport Art Association. Beginning in 1964 he summered in Rocky Neck, MA, and opened a summertime gallery. In the 1970s he made a permanent move to Gloucester where he held workshops at his studio. In the 1990s he moved to Lanesville. Among those institutions with work by Jankowski is the Cape Ann Museum. In their biography of the artist they acknowledge his role of inspiring a generation of Cape Ann artists...

Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Lithograph

Autumn Landscape with Purple
Autumn Landscape with Purple

Autumn Landscape with Purple

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...

Category

1980s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Hillside Barns
Hillside Barns

Hillside Barns

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...

Category

1980s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

White Farm
White Farm

White Farm

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...

Category

1980s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

The Path

The Path

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...

Category

1980s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Landscape with Farm

Landscape with Farm

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...

Category

1980s Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Two Pink Trees in a Yellow Field
Two Pink Trees in a Yellow Field

Two Pink Trees in a Yellow Field

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski (1925–2009) painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and deligh...

Category

1980s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Related Items
Pocket Ladybird 2,  Original painting, Still life, Insect
Pocket Ladybird 2,  Original painting, Still life, Insect

Pocket Ladybird 2, Original painting, Still life, Insect

By Dani Humberstone

Located in Deddington, GB

Pocket Ladybird 2 is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her Pocket Painting series featuring small scale realistic oil paintings, with a nod to baroque still lif...

Category

2010s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Remembering Plains no. 54
Remembering Plains no. 54

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...

Category

2010s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars

Frankenthaler, Mary Mary 1991, New York City, Lincoln Center
Frankenthaler, Mary Mary 1991, New York City, Lincoln Center

Frankenthaler, Mary Mary 1991, New York City, Lincoln Center

By Helen Frankenthaler

Located in Fairfield, CT

Artist: After Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) Title: Mary Mary (Lincoln Center Honorary) Year: 1991 Medium: Offset lithograph poster on extra thick Somerset paper Edition: 2000 Size...

Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Lithograph, Offset

Summer - Contemporary Impressionistic Painting of a Landscape
Summer - Contemporary Impressionistic Painting of a Landscape

Summer - Contemporary Impressionistic Painting of a Landscape

By Frank Dekkers

Located in Nuenen, Noord Brabant

Frank Dekkers Summer 140 x 200 cm (not framed) oil on canvas On the pictures we also show you the artist receiving the flowers on our opening of this exhibition september 3th 2023 i...

Category

2010s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

Very Shiny Very Red Apple
Very Shiny Very Red Apple

Dani HumberstoneVery Shiny Very Red Apple, 2024

$668

H 12.21 in W 12.21 in D 1.58 in

Very Shiny Very Red Apple

By Dani Humberstone

Located in Deddington, GB

Very Shiny Very Red Apple is an original oil painting by Dani Humberstone as part of her series of realistic oil paintings of fruit with a nod to baroque still life painting. The pai...

Category

2010s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Vast no.9, Restore
Vast no.9, Restore

Alyson KinkadeVast no.9, Restore, 2020

$4,200

H 37 in W 37 in D 2 in

Vast no.9, Restore

By Alyson Kinkade

Located in Loveland, CO

"Vast no.9, Restore" by Alyson Kinkade Abstract Landscape Oil on Linen 36x36" image Black Metal cradle styled Frame, 37x37" After a year of storms, light...

Category

2010s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Linen, Oil

Walk - Contemporary Expressive and Figurative Landscape Oil Painting with Dog
Walk - Contemporary Expressive and Figurative Landscape Oil Painting with Dog

Walk - Contemporary Expressive and Figurative Landscape Oil Painting with Dog

By Joanna Mrozowska

Located in Salzburg, AT

Joanna Mrozowska Born in 1976 in Warsaw. Studied in the Department of Painting in the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw; she graduated with a Master’s degree in painting, with the cycle...

Category

2010s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Cotton Canvas, Oil

Numbers in Color, 1981, Johns
Numbers in Color, 1981, Johns

Jasper JohnsNumbers in Color, 1981, Johns, 1981

$476Sale Price|20% Off

H 39.5 in W 27 in

Numbers in Color, 1981, Johns

By Jasper Johns

Located in Fairfield, CT

Title: Numbers in Color Year: 1981 Medium: Offset Lithograph exhibition poster on archival paper Edition: 5,000 Size: 39.5 x 27 inches Condition: Excellent Notes: Published by the Al...

Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Lithograph

VILLA NEUVE Signed Lithograph, Modernist Abstract, City Landscape, Collage, Flag
VILLA NEUVE Signed Lithograph, Modernist Abstract, City Landscape, Collage, Flag

VILLA NEUVE Signed Lithograph, Modernist Abstract, City Landscape, Collage, Flag

By Conrad Marca-Relli 1

Located in Union City, NJ

VILLA NEUVE is an original limited edition lithograph printed using hand lithography techniques on archival printmaking paper 100% acid free. VILLA NEUVE is an imaginative modernist ...

Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Lithograph

Untitled (Edition 80/120)
Untitled (Edition 80/120)

Untitled (Edition 80/120)

Located in New York, NY

Unknown/Unidentified Artist, "Untitled" Edition 80/120, Abstract Lithograph signed and numbered in pencil, 22 x 30, Late 20th Century Colors: Red, Green, Yellow, Black, White, Brown...

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Lithograph

Limitless Triptych
Limitless Triptych

Alyson KinkadeLimitless Triptych, 2016

$3,200

H 22 in W 51 in D 2 in

Limitless Triptych

By Alyson Kinkade

Located in Loveland, CO

Limitless Triptych by Alyson Kinkade Each canvas is 20x15", oil on linen on thick stretcher bars. 22x51x1.5" overall dimensions. Framed in black wood - floater frames as pictured "W...

Category

2010s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars, Linen

Previously Available Items
Barn and Garden

Barn and Garden

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in Gloucester, MA

Zygmund Jankowski painted traditional subjects with exuberant irreverence for traditional rules of color, composition, and perspective. He disparaged imitation and delighted in break...

Category

1980s Contemporary Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Zygmund Jankowski, My Garden
Zygmund Jankowski, My Garden

Zygmund Jankowski, My Garden

By Zygmund Jankowski

Located in New York, NY

Zygmund Jankowski is known for his modernist compositions and effective use of “the white of the paper.” 'My Garden' perfectly illustrates that skill; It is signed, titled, dated, and numbered in pencil. It is from an edition of 10. Jankowski was born in South Bend, Indiana. After serving in the US Navy Jankowski attended the California College of Arts and Crafts, where studied with Victor DeWilde, Otis Oldfield, and George Post. Returning to the mid-west he taught at Indiana University, South Western Michigan College, Hilton Leech School of Art, the Bremen Art Center, the Niles Art Center, the South Bend Art Association, and the Rockport Art Association. Beginning in 1964 he summered in Rocky Neck, MA, and opened a summertime gallery. In the 1970s he made a permanent move to Gloucester where he held workshops at his studio. In the 1990s he moved to Lanesville. Among those institutions with work by Jankowski is the Cape Ann Museum. In their biography of the artist they acknowledge his role of inspiring a generation of Cape Ann artists...

Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Zygmund Jankowski Art

Materials

Lithograph

Zygmund Jankowski art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Zygmund Jankowski art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Zygmund Jankowski in paint, canvas, fabric and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1980s and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Zygmund Jankowski art, so small editions measuring 23 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Eric Edward Esper, Liz Dexheimer, and Pauline Ziegen. Zygmund Jankowski art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $3,700 and tops out at $18,000, while the average work can sell for $9,000.

Artists Similar to Zygmund Jankowski