| Harry
Gottlieb (1895-1992)
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Gottlieb established his reputation as a leading New York painter and printmaker during the 1920's and 1930's. A founding member of the Woodstock Painters Association, his early paintings and prints exhibit a unique understanding of Cezanne's basic structures as well as an interest in related cubist forms. By 1930, however, Gottlieb's art was allied much more closely to the tradition of social realism in the vein of Sloan, Marsh and Hopper. As well, one of the champions of Gottlieb's art during this period was Juliana Force, the first director of the influential Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Gottlieb, in fact, was one of the premier artists to be honored with a one-man show at the Whitney. This important museum still houses one of the best collections of Gottlieb's paintings, drawings and prints.
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The darkest period of Gottlieb's career took place in the years following World War II. His liberal social attitudes made him a prime target for McCarthyism and under political pressure many museums and galleries were forced to withdraw Gottlieb's art. By the later 1950's, however, he was again practicing and exhibiting his art. He then received the prestigious Guggenheim Scholarship Award which enabled him to travel extensively in Europe, Mexico and many Latin American countries. Harry Gottlieb was a founding member of the W.P.A. and the Artists' League of America. For his distinguished art he received Gold Medals from both the National Academy and from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
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Throughout much of his life, creative printmaking was an important part of Gottlieb's oeuvre. Until 1940, however, lithography was his favored medium. In the early 1940's Gottlieb turned to the color medium of silk-screening. A tireless innovator, he invented a process that enabled this medium to become much more painterly in its approach. To establish the rich and vibrant colours he was seeking, Gottlieb painted directly onto the screen, much like the medium of the monoprint.
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| Gottlieb's first silkscreen was exhibited in 1940 and it drew immediate national recognition as it was awarded the prestigious Eyre Medal for the best print in the 40th Annual Exhibition of Watercolours and Prints at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Harry Gottlieb's silkscreens display a brilliant use of both form and colour. They stand as a truly magnificent testament to his famous career. |
An important twentieth century American artist, Harry Gottlieb was born in Romania but lived in Ireland through much of his childhood. In 1908 he settled in the United States and received his artistic education in Minneapolis. Gottlieb came to New York at the end of World War One. He then became involved with the Provincetown Theatre Company, designing sets and acting. It was here he met the emerging young playwright, Eugene O'Neill, and Gottlieb designed the sets for some of his first performances.
Harry Gottlieb was born in Romania,
lived in Ireland from 1901 to 1907 when he was brought to the
United States. His family settled in Minnesota where he received
his formal art training.
While living in Woodstock in the early 1920's he was discovered
and introduced to the art world by Miss Juliana Force, the director
of the Whitney Studio Gallery, later to become the Whitney Museum.
He is a Guggenheim fellow and his work are included in the
permanent collections of the Whitney, Brooklyn, Metropolitan,
Berkshire, Springfield and Tel Aviv Museums and many others
- he is also included in the permanent collections of the Universities
of Arizona, Nebraska, Georgia, Syracuse and others.
Mr. Gottlieb has had over seventeen one man exhibitions throughout
the United States.
Among some of the prizes awarded Harry Gottlieb are: the 1934
Jennie Sesam medal of the Pennsylvania Academy for the Fine
Arts for landscape painting, and in 1935 the Carnegie prize
of the National Academy.
Born 1895 Bucharest, Romania
Died 1993 New York City
Listed "Who's was Who in American Art" Page 1335
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