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"Spring, " Important 1920s Painting Evoking Stravinsky Ballet & Polish Folk Dress

About the Item

Painted by one of America's great Modernist artists -- Salcia Bahnc -- in 1925, and evoking Igor Stravinksy's "Rite of Spring" ballet and the native folk costume of Poland, where the artist grew up, this large and important piece depicts 10 figures in brilliantly-hued dress, some in dance poses that suggest the choreography and costumes of Vaslav Nijinsky and Nicholas Roerich. Bahnc's family moved to New York when she was a young girl, and from there to Boston and Chicago, where she made her career and became known as one of the great, bold artists of her day. She started with fashion drawing, and remained very interested in costumes and design, clearly evident in this painting. Painted in 1925, it was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art's Twenty Third Watercolor Exhibition that year, the label for which survives on the reverse of the painting. Two years later, Chester H. Johnson, an important Chicago art dealer, said of her work: "The Art of Salcia Bahnc is a sincere manifestation of the spirit we know as 'Modernism' . . . She is the spirit of the Age, not its Fashion." The painting is watercolor and gouache on paper, presented in a heavy frame under glass.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Width: 85.5 in (217.17 cm)Depth: 1.5 in (3.81 cm)
  • Style:
    Art Deco (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1925
  • Condition:
  • Seller Location:
    Philadelphia, PA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU865129075262
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