William Morehouse 1950s Abstract Impressionist Landscape

About the Item

William Morehouse [1929-1993] was a Bay Area painter who was renowned for his work in both Abstract Expressionism, as well as plein air landscapes, mostly done in a style known as Abstract Impressionism. In the late 1950s, Morehouse was painting in both styles, then concentrated on Abstract Expressionism from the 1960s into the 1980s. Later in life, he returned to landscapes exclusively. This early painting of a harbor appears to be a Bay Area setting, with the rolling hills in the background. An economy of brush strokes captures the vista beautifully. The sgraffito technique is used to suggest certain objects, making even the resulting void work to the painter's advantage. Predominant colors are blue, green, red, white and black. This painting is newly and appropriately mounted in a distressed-finish celadon color frame, with silver gilt edging and a white linen liner. The artist was born in San Francisco and attended the California School of Fine Arts from 1947 through 1951. There he studied under Richard Diebenkorn, David Park, Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko and Elmer Bischoff, among others. From 1958 until 1967, Morehouse taught with Diebenkorn, James Weeks and Nathan Oliveira at the California School of Fine Arts, later renamed the San Francisco Art Institute. There have been numerous exhibitions of Morehouse's work. The earliest published recognition of his work was in the 1956 book, "Younger American Painters," by James Johnson Sweeney, Director of the Guggenheim Museum. Framed dimensions: 26.25" H x 32.25" W x 2.5" D.

Creator:

William Morehouse (Artist)

Dimensions:

Height: 20 in (50.8 cm)Width: 26 in (66.04 cm)

Materials and Techniques:

Canvas

Place of Origin:

United States

Period:

1950-1959

Date of Manufacture:

circa 1950s