Georges Simonka

'Modernist Still Life', Paris, Salon d Automne, Centre Pompidou, Budapest

1955

Signed Upper Left "Tosca" for Tosca Olinski (American, 1909-1984) and painted in 1941. Provenance: Mongerson Wunderlich Galleries, Chicago. Exhibited: New Directions in American Pai...

An exuberant Post-Impressionist still life of spring flowers shown informally arranged in a creamware vase against a variegated ivory background. Signed Lower Right 'H. Frank' and painted circa 1975. After initially studying in Paris, Harold Frank attended the New York Art Students League, the National Academy of Design, Pratt Institute, Chouinard Art Institute and UCLA where he was a colleague of Richard Diebenkorn, who had a lasting influence on his work. Other artists who deeply affected his creative philosophy included Matisse, Rouault, Picasso and De Kooning. His one-man and group exhibition record is extensive and he was shown internationally in London, Paris, Amsterdam and Aubonne, Switzerland, as well as throughout the United States from the 1960's through the 80's. Though he did not seek recognition as his reason to create, major awards also came his way (among them the Adolph and Clara Obrig Award and the Sudam Silver Medal from the National Academy of Design; the National Watercolor Society's Grumbacher Award; the John Marin Memorial Award in the Watercolor U.S.A. Show and a First Prize from the Laguna Beach Museum of Art. His subject matter included pure abstracts, landscapes, still lifes and the male and female head and figure. As many artists have done before and after him, he explored variations of each subject, experimenting with changes in medium, technique, light and color. His remarkable paintings of the female head and form quickly developed into a vehicle for his abstract interpretations. Though his brushwork is quick and sure, he often labored over several pieces at the same time. This piece is accompanied with a first edition copy of 'Harold Frank: Abstract Expressionist 1921-1995' by Sandie Stern and published by Millenium Twelve Two (2001). Education: National Academy of Design, New York, 1936; Art Students League, New York, 1937; Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York; Chouinard Art Institute, Los Angeles; University of California, Los Angeles. Selected One-Man Exhibitions: Savage Gallery, London, England, 1960; Galerij Werking, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1960; Ardail-Castro Gallery, Paris, France, 1960; Pasadena Art Musuem, Pasadena, California, 1962; Ryder Gallery, Los Angeles, California, 1964; Ankrum Gallery, Los Angeles, California, 1964; Gallerie Chantepierre, Aubonne, Switzerland, 1966; Haggenmmaker Gallery, Beverly Hills, California, 1966; Irene Neuman Galleries (with Ernest Halpern), Los Angeles, California, 1968; Emerson Gallery, Encino, California, 1973; Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, California, 1977; Chester House Gallery, Chester, Vermont, 1977; L'Atelier Gallerie, Carmel, California, 1978; Upstairs Downstairs...

Signed, verso, "Ament" and "de la Roche" for Janet Ament de la Roche (American, 1916-2000) and titled "Black Vase"; painted circa 1955. Oil still-life of a black teapot...

Signed lower left, "Di Gesu" for Victor Di Gesu (American, 1914-1988) and dated 1964; additionally, signed, verso, titled, 'Yellow Marguerites' and inscribed with the artist's addres...

Regina Mundlak was born in a village near Lomza (NE Poland), into a poor Jewish family. In 1901 she went to Berlin to find work, together with her mother and sister, a highly talented violinist. Her extraordinary talent rapidly brought her to the attention of the Jewish artistic milieu. Her work so impressed Max Liebermann (1847–1935) that he decided to finance her education. However, even with his help, she had difficulty in making a living. Efraim Moses Lilien (1874–1925), who did not conceal his fascination with her talent, tried to help by publishing an open letter in Ost und West in 1902, appealing for support for her, but because of financial problems she finally had to give up her studies and return to her homeland. At the age of fifteen she was already very skilled in drawing. At first she primarily created realistic portrait studies. The works she published in 1902 showed her rare power of observation. Her pen-and-ink drawings were also greatly admired. As her subjects she most often chose characteristic Jewish types from Eastern Europe. She exhibited her works in Warsaw at the (Society for Promotion of Fine Arts) in 1902 and in 1903 and at the Aleksander Krywult Salon in 1903. In 1906, once again in Berlin, she exhibited her works at the Cassirer Salon. A review of this exhibition by Hermann Struck appeared in Ost und West. Like Lilien before him, he too wrote about her “phenomenal talent.” On the occasion of her exhibition, some of her drawings were reproduced in Ost und West. The development of her creative abilities in the years between Lilien’s letter and Struck’s review is noticeable. Drawings published in 1901 were portraits; compared to later works they evidence a skilful but still somewhat uncertain hand. The works created a few years later were characterized by a stronger and surer line. These works are also more developed: while the subject of her works remained the same, she now extended her interest in portraiture to the shape of the entire human body, presenting the figures in more elaborate environments. Looking at the reproductions, one might conclude that she was interested in nothing but Jewish life in the Diaspora. There is a propensity to show the faces of older people...

LEMONS & POTS Oil on Board Size: 48.5 x 55.5 cm (including frame) A visually striking and expressive modernist still life composition, executed in oil onto board and dated 1949. Th...

FLORAL & FIGURINE Size: 50 x 71 cm (including frame) Oil on Canvas An elegant and serene mid-century still life interior scene, executed in oil on board. The composition presents a...

"Tabletop Still Life" by Philadelphia born modernist and surrealist painter Leon Kelly, is a framed painting of a set dinner table with food, flowers, and wine. The 36" x 44" oil on ...