Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6

A Kay Whitcomb Enamel 1966

$3,700
£2,799.95
€3,229.22
CA$5,166.79
A$5,788.48
CHF 3,012.90
MX$70,492.58
NOK 38,380.30
SEK 36,143.41
DKK 24,105.68
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

A great enamel by Kay Whitcomb, framed, signed and dated 1966. Titled" Where your Treasure is, there will your Heart be also" A note about the artist: " Whitcomb was born in 1921 in Arlington, Massachusetts, to a long line of New England metalsmiths, the Carr family. In a way, it was almost preordained that her life would be devoted to the crafts. While she hoped to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, financial conditions prevented it. With financial assistance from relatives and friends, she began her art studies at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1939. Whitcomb recalls that in her third year, in 1941, she took an enameling class. Her instructor taught the cloisonné technique. Ruth Raemisch also used the same facilities, working on her enamels while regular courses were offered. Whitcomb recalls being intrigued by Raemisch’s techniques and wanting to emulate the distinguished German-born artist, whose style was based on the Limoges school of enamel painting. She completed her course work at RISD in 1942 while taking additional classes at the Cambridge School of Art. In 1944 she joined the United States Marine Corps Women’s Reserve at Camp Pendleton, California, where her drafting skills were put to great use. After the war she was able to secure an apprenticeship with the emerging enamel artist Doris Hall. Whitcomb moved to Cleveland in December 1946 and spent four months working in Hall’s studio. Hall’s use of an industrial liquid base coat, obtained from the Ferro Enamel Corporation, was a great revelation to the young artist and would influence her work early on. With a GI loan, she was able to open her first enameling studio in Winchester, Massachusetts. In 1948 three of her enamel works were juried into the Syracuse Ceramic National. After a brief marriage, she moved, in 1954, to San Diego with her two children. With great determination and perseverance, Whitcomb quickly became a prominent part of the vibrant artistic community in Southern California. There her enameling career as well as her organizational skills flourished. Her work explored diverse subjects, and she started incorporating words, phrases, and proverbs into it. She became versed in numerous techniques and started exploring unconventional methods of fusing glass to metal. By the late 1960s she was experimenting enameling on steel at factories in Germany and Belgium. Among her many large-scale works produced at Crahait Emailleries in Gosselies, Belgium, was a pair of eighty-four-by-thirty-two-inch doors, which were shown at California Design 11 at the Pasadena Art Museum in 1971. Her desire to share her knowledge led her to teach enameling at the La Jolla Art Museum and the San Diego Museum of Art shortly after her move to the region. She juried and curated numerous exhibitions and went to great efforts to keep enameling on public display. Besides exhibiting in Europe, she led the effort to have several American enamelists included in the prestigious International Biennial of Enamel Art in Limoges. Her accomplishments are many, and her career in enameling deserves fuller consideration."
  • Creator:
    Kay Whitcomb (Artist)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14 in (35.56 cm)Width: 10.5 in (26.67 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Style:
    Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1966
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. very good vintage condition.
  • Seller Location:
    St.Petersburg, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU802916421591

More From This Seller

View All
Warren Wolf Abstract Painting ca' 1972
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
An unusual large painting on masonite by Warren Wolf (1924 - 2003, American), ca' 1980. Heavy texture (marble dust), in original frame. "Warren Wolf was a teacher, art school adminis...
Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Masonite

Leonard Maurer Painting, 1949
By Leonard Maurer
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
Important painting by Leonard Maurer (1912-1976), titled "Bridge #2", 1949. A great example of American 1940's modernism with clear influences of Jackso...
Category

Vintage 1940s North American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Canvas

Acrylic on Wood by Ellen Rothenberg
By Ellen Rothenberg
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
An interesting acrylic on wood painting by noted artist Ellen Rothenberg, circa 1980s. Ellen Rothenberg (1949-) is an American visual artist and writer who specializes in fiber art...
Category

Vintage 1980s American Modern Paintings

A Large Painting by Istvan Lendvay Ca' 1960's
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A large and funky modern painting by Istvan Lendvay, a Canadian artist from Hungary (1929-2016). Istvan was born in 1929 in a small village in the count...
Category

Vintage 1960s Canadian Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Harriet Rosendale Large Painting
By Harriet Rosendale
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A large abstract painting by Harriet Rosendale. Harriet Rosendale was a well-known and well-listed Cconnecticut artist, who achieved national recognition in the 1950’s for her figura...
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Masonite

A Gouache on Paper by Robert Freiman, 1960
By Robert Freiman
Located in St.Petersburg, FL
A striking gouache on paper by Robert Freiman, signed and dated 1957. Robert J Freiman (b. 1917 - d. 1991), deaf from birth, was born in New York City and attended the Lexington Sch...
Category

Vintage 1960s American Modern Drawings

You May Also Like

1950s Karl Drerup Modern Enamel on Copper Artwork
By Karl Drerup
Located in New York, NY
1950s modern enamel on copper frame artwork by German born artist Karl Drerup. A rare collection of 5 pieces is available.
Category

20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art

Materials

Copper, Enamel

Vintage Mid-Century Modern Original Abstract on Wood Signed Hammack 1967
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Fantastic vintage abstract original oil. A brilliantly colored composition on wood. Signed and dated by the artist Jack Hammack, 1967. Acquired from a Portland estate
Category

Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Wood

Original Art Work by C. Dunlap for Harris Strong
By Harris Strong
Located in South Charleston, WV
Modernist wall mounted print art work. Earth Tone pastels, by C. Dunlap for Harris Strong, circa 1970. Measures: 17.5" x 15.5" 1.25" deep Original mixed media art signed by the artis...
Category

Vintage 1970s American Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art

Materials

Glass, Paper

Mid-Century Modern Enamel Artwork by Judith Daner
Located in Redding, CT
Mid-Century Modern Enamel Artwork by Judith Danner. Amazing piece of work by a very talented artist. Signed JD (Judith Daner). Copper enamel plaque mount...
Category

Vintage 1960s Mid-Century Modern Decorative Art

Materials

Copper, Enamel

1970s Danish Mixed-Media Painting
Located in London, London
Mixed-media On paper  Danish 1970s.
Category

Late 20th Century Danish Mid-Century Modern Paintings

Materials

Paint

Mid-Century Modern Mixed Media, Collage, by Tom Betts, American, 1967
Located in Manhasset, NY
Tom Betts American, 20th/21st Century 'Project F Revolt!', 1967 Tom Betts American, 20th/21st Century 'Project F Revolt!', 1967 Signed, dated, and ti...
Category

Vintage 1960s Decorative Art

Materials

Paint, Acrylic