Robert Natkin was an American painter renown for his Abstract Expressionist works. Robert Natkin was born in Chicago, Illinois in the year 1910. Natkin attended the Art Institute of Chicago.
His mother disapproved of his love of art. She encouraged his high school art teacher to flunk him in order to try and stop him from wanting to be an artist.
The artist liked to experiment with different ways of applying paint including using netting, stencils, and cloth.
Natkin married another American abstract artist named Judith Dolnick.
The artist is part of many prestigious collections including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of Art.
Price range information: Works range from $1,000 to $40,000.
The artist worked oils, gouache, watercolor, pastels, acrylics, and was a prolific printmaker.
Robert Natkin passed away in 2010.
Below we visit a private chapel where one of Natkin’s paintings is installed:
The bright palette used by Natkin gives his works the feeling of happiness.
Clare Rojas is a painter of the figure and also abstract works. Clare Rojas was born in Columbus, Ohio in the year 1976. Rojas is also an avid printmaker.
For her collegiate education Rojas attended the Rhode Island School of Design located in Providence, Rhode Island earning a B.F.A. Rojas went on to earn an M.F.A. from the Art Institute of Chicago.
The artist is based out of San Francisco, California.
Her figurative works remind me of artist Alex Katz. My favorite works are her abstract paintings. Rojas creates shapes and uses vivid color that reminds the viewer of the majesty of hand sewn quilts.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
A great interview with the artist talking about how quilts and feminism inspire some of her work:
Rojas often works with gouache and latex on board.
In this clip we view more of the artist’s figure work:
Hanson Puthuff was an American landscape painter born in Waverly, Missouri in the year 1875. Puthuff attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Denver, Colorado. The artist enjoyed painting the desert landscapes of California.
The artist began his art career painting billboards and sign painter. His working process made it easy for the artist become a great landscape painter. To paint a sign he and his associates would be taken to the location of the sign and billboard via horse wagon and dropped off. When the sign or billboard was done the group would paint landscapes of the area whilst waiting for the wagon to return and pick them up.
Puthuff was a founding member of the California Art Club.
In this clip we view a great montage of works by Hanson Puthuff. What a great painter of trees and mountains. The artist also had a gift for using aerial perspective to give his works a great sense of depth:
Hanson Puthuff passed away in 1972.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
What a great painter of the landscape and in particular trees and mountains.
Richard Estes is an American artist working in a photo realist style. Richard Estes was born in Kewanee, Illinois in the year 1932. Estes paints urban scenes and paints with a great sense of depth in his work. A key aspect of his work is his use of reflections. The artist does most of his larger works in oils but also works in gouache and watercolor on smaller pieces.
Estes attended the Art Institute of Chicago.
After art school Estes found employment as a freelance artist working with magazines. Estes lived abroad in Spain and also in New York City. After a decade of painting Estes was able to quit his day job and focus on painting full time and selling via galleries.
Below a great sample of works by Richard Estes:
Estes is a member of the National Academy of Design.
The artist would portray his landscape work so that it would appear to be a nice calm day in the morning.
Price range information: Estes was a prolific printmaker and prints can be found starting around $5,000. Originals in oils can reach $600,000.
What a wonderful artist! If you look carefully his reflections are both real and abstract. A sticker or sign might say STOP, but the reflection will reverse the image and Estes would paint it. Estes paintings of department store windows are amazing!
Ed Paschke was an American Pop Art painter who often worked with the face and figure. Ed Paschke was born in Chicago, Illinois in the year 1939. Paschke attended the Art Institute of Chicago. Paschke earned a BFA and also an MFA from the same institution.
The artist taught at Northwestern College. He also married another artist named Nancy.
His favorite themes were similar to other artist’s like Warhol, sex, fame, and money were painted often.
Price range information: Works range from prints which start at $4,000 to original oils which can reach $300,000. The artist created many lithographs over his career.
In this clip we view a show featuring Ed Paschke with our friend James Kalm:
Ed Paschke passed away in 2004 at the age of 65 years of age.
Below the last interview given by Paschke before he passed away:
Raoul Hague was a wonderful sculptor renown or his abstract works made of wood that often have the torso as the subject matter. Raoul Hague was born in Constantinople, Turkey in the year 1904.
price range information: Sorry none available.
The artist was well schooled attending the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois. Hague also studied at the Beaux Arts School of Design located in New York City and the Art Student’s League of New York City.
The artist was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Raoul Hague is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement.
The artist was in his mid fifties when he had his first solo show.
Raoul Hague passed away in 1993 at the age of 88 years of age.
For much of his working career the artist was based out of Woodstock, New York.
What a wonderful style he had working with the torso as the subject matter but using wood which has fun repeating patterns and lines. Its as if we as viewers get a couple of works of art with the wood and with the torso!
Marion Wachtel was a fantastic painter of the American outdoors born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the year 1875. Wachtel is associated with the Impressionist and California Impressionist movements. Her family was very artistic and her great grandfather was a member of the Royal Academy of Art in London, England.
Wachtel loved to paint en plein air and she completed many works in both watercolor and oils.
Wachtel attended the Art Institute of Chicago and also studied privately with William Merritt Chase in New York City.
After receiving a commission to paint the offices of a railroad company in California, the artist relocated to West Coast. She would eventually take art classes from her future husband, Elmer Wachtel. Elmer Wachtel passed away in 1929.
Marion Wachtel passed away in 1954.
In this clip we view a great montage of works by Marion Wachtel. She was a great painter of light and often overlooked when it comes to the California Impressionists:
Price range information: Works range from $10,000 to $100,000. The artist worked in oils and watercolors.
Another great husband and wife painting duo! Elmer Wachtel will be the next profiled artist.
Thomas Eldred was an American painter born in Climax , Michigan in the year 1903. Eldred attended college where he studied economics as his school of choice had no art program. Eldred would go on to attend the Art Institute of Chicago followed by the Art Student’s League of New York City.
Eldred was also a teacher. He worked from a grant from the Federal Works Project as a teacher.
Thomas Eldred passed away in 1993.
Price range information: Sorry none available.
Thomas Eldred also studied with previous post Stanley William Hayter’s academy which was named Atelier 17.
I enjoy the shapes made by this artist. His images have a wonderful sense of fluidity and movement.
Robert Brady was an American painter who worked in a Cubist style mainly with the figure. Robert Brady was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa in the year 1928. Brady was born to an wealthy family and encouraged to learn about the arts from a very young age.
Brady attended some of the most renown art schools including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Tyler School of Art located in Philadelphia, and the Barnes Foundation located in Merion, Pennsylvania.
Robert Brady spent the latter part of his life in Cuernavaca, Mexico. After he passed away Brady donated his house to the government in order that he be kept as a Museum. Brady was a painter, but also loved to collect art. At the time of his passing his collection held more than 1,300 works.
The artist loved to travel the world and this led him to buy his huge estate in Mexico. The house that serves as a museum was created in the 1600s.
Over his career he also bought a wonderful house in Venice where a neighbor was from the Guggenheim family. This relationship led Robert Brady to begin collecting art himself.
Robert Brady passed away whilst living in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1986.
This artist was seen as a bon vivant! It seems he lived a wonderful life that included travelling the world over, entertaining the social elite at his massive estates, and painting and collecting art. If only we all could be so lucky!
Mark Tobey was an American Abstract Expressionist painter born in Centerville, Wisconsin in the year 1890. His family moved to Chicago when he was in his middle teens and the artist took some courses at the Art Institute of Chicago. Early in his career the artist included the figure in his work and he also spent time as a portrait artist.
Tobey ended up attending the Art Institute of Chicago where he studied with famed painter Frank Zimmerman. After college the artist worked many years in the fashion industry as a designer.
Tobey loved to travel and visited many locations across the globe including Mexico,Israel, China, Japan, and much of Europe.
Over his lifetime the artist also studied languages including Persian and Arabic. The artist also took classes on calligraphy.
Winner of a Guggenheim International award.
Mark Tobey passed away in 1976.
price range information: Tobey was an avid printmaker and lithographs can be found starting at $2,000 to originals in oils or gouache which can hit $400,000.
His most renowned works are what are called his “White Writing” series which are calligraphic strokes over an abstract base. Many works were made using gouache and watercolor.
In this clip we view some great works by Mark Tobey:
Mark Tobey is part of many prominent collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Tate of London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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