- Walt Kuhn
Walt Kuhn (
27 October 1877 -13 July 1949 ) was an American painter and was an organizer of themodern art Armory Show of 1913, which was the first of its genre in America.Biography
Kuhn was born in
Brooklyn ,New York City . At 15, Kuhn sold his first drawings to a magazine and signed his name “Walt.” In 1893, he enrolled in art classes at theBrooklyn Polytechnic Institute .In 1899, Kuhn set out for
California with only $60 in his pocket. Upon his arriving inSan Francisco , he became an illustrator for "WASP" magazine. In 1901, Walt left for Paris, where he briefly studied art at the Academy Colarossi before leaving to the Royal Academy inMunich . Once in the capital ofBavaria , he studied under Heinrich von Zugel (1850-1941), a member of theBarbizon School .In 1903, he returned to New York and was employed as an illustrator for local journals. In 1905, he held his first exhibition at the Salmagundi Club, establishing himself as both a cartoonist and a serious painter. In this same year, he completed his first illustrations for "LIFE" magazine.
When the New York School of Art moved to
Fort Lee, NJ in the summer of 1908, Kuhn joined the faculty. However, he disliked his experience with the school, and at the end of the school year, he returned to New York. There, he married Vera Spier. Soon after a daughter, Brenda Kuhn, was born.In 1909, he helped prepare his first solo-exhibition in New York. In the following years, Kuhn took part in founding the Association of American Painters and Sculptors- the organization responsible for the
Armory Show of 1913. Kuhn acted as the executive secretary and was put in charge of finding European artists to participate. TheArmory Show , which displayed both European and American modern art to New York audiences, proved to be both a controversy and triumph.In 1925, Kuhn’s health had turned for the worse when he almost died from a
duodenal ulcer . After an arduous recovery, he became an instructor at theArt Students League of New York . He also completed a commission for theUnion Pacific Railroad , the club car "The Little Nugget" LA-701, currently under restoration at theTravel Town Museum in Los Angeles, California. In 1933, the aging artist organized his first retrospective.By the 1940s, Kuhn’s behavior began to take on unsound characteristics. He became increasingly distant, and when the
Ringling Brothers Circus was in town, he attended night after night. In 1948, he was institutionalized, and onJuly 13 ,1949 , he died suddenly from a perforated ulcer.Work
Today, Walt Kuhn is best remembered for his key role in planning the
Armory Show of 1913. Nevertheless, he holds a place in American art history as a skilled cartoonist, draughtsman, printmaker, sculptor and painter. Although he destroyed many of his early paintings, his works that remain today are powerful.His portraits of circus and vaudeville entertainers are some of the most memorable works of early American Modernism. They are reminiscent of "commedia dell'arte" actor portraits done by the French masters centuries earlier. Nevertheless, Kuhn's works are entirely his own. His intimate portraits and expressionistic still-lifes can be found in many top museums and universities across the United States.
Bibliography
* [http://www.sullivangoss.com/walt_Kuhn WALT KUHN (1877-1949) - AMERICAN MODERNIST ] at www.sullivangoss.com
External links
* [http://www.forumgallery.com/adetail.php?id=142 Biography]
* [http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/kuhnwalt/ Walt Kuhn, Kuhn Family Papers, and Armory Show records online at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art]
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