Exhibited Signed Morris Kantor Painting, ca. 1962

About Auction

Live

Fine Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 2, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-12-02 10:00:00 2021-12-02 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Fine Antiquities | Asian | Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/fine-antiquities-asian-ethnographic-art-7918
Features classical antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art from cultures encompassing the globe. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Etruscan, Near Eastern, Asian, Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial, Russian, Fine / Visual Arts, so much more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

View Full Catalog (346)

• Lot Description
  **This is an oversized piece that may require special shipping. Please inquire for a quote prior to bidding.
  
  Morris Kantor (Russian-American, 1896-1974). Oil on canvas, ca. 1962. Signed on the lower right. A wonderful abstract painting by Morris Kantor that demonstrates the artist's avant-garde aesthetic. Kantor's bold colors, forms, and gestural marks create a non-objective composition with shapes that while two dimensional conjure sculptural forms and suggest movement along with the passage of time. Pink is the dominant color of this composition, and Kantor was no stranger to this lively hue which is symbolic of youth, playfulness, and good health. See a similar Kantor painting entitled "Pink Façade" (1961) at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (1976.146.74). All is set in a custom wooden frame embellished with gold pigment that complements the coloration of the painting beautifully. Size of painting: 52" L x 55" W (132.1 cm x 139.7 cm) Size of frame: 53" L x 56" W (134.6 cm x 142.2 cm)
  
  Born in Minsk, Russia (now Belarus) Morris Kantor immigrated to the United States in 1906 when he was just a child. There is some debate as to whether he was with family or alone, but we know that he was very young, lived in New York City, and earned enough money working in the Garment District to enroll in art school by age 20. Kantor began attending the Independent School of Art in New York in 1916 and went on to teach at Cooper Union during the 1940s and the Art Students League from 1936 to 1972. Many of his students - including Robert Rauschenberg, Knox Martin, Susan Weil, and Sigmund Abeles - became quite famous in their own right.
  
  Kantor maintained a studio in Manhattan, close to Union Square, as well as on Cape Cod in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. During the 1920s, he also worked in Paris. His arts circle included notable modernists such as the sculptor Isamu Noguchi. During the 1930s, Kantor supervised a Federal Arts Project Easel Painting Project in Rockland County, New York. The following decade he spent some summers in Monhegan, Maine, and in the 1960s his work was shown at Bertha Schaefer Gallery in New York City. Kantor's work has also been exhibited at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other prestigious institutions. His honors include receiving the Logan Medal of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Temple Medal of the University of Illinois. Kantor's oeuvre was vast and impressive, as he explored numerous styles ranging from realism colored by a hint of Surrealism to abstract movements including Cubism and Futurism.
  
  This painting was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts 157th Annual Exhibition of American Oil Painting and Sculpture - January 12 - February 25, 1962. Notice the label for this exhibition attached to one of the stretcher bars on the verso.
  
  Provenance: Private M. C. collection, Irvine, California, USA; Ex-Morris Kantor collection
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage replace this
  
  #168229

  Condition

  Painting is signed by the artist on the lower right. It has a few minor scuffs, but is otherwise excellent with vibrant hues and a marvelous display of biomorphic modernism. Frame has normal age wear with minor scuffs, stains, nicks, and abrasions but is otherwise intact and its gold tone complements the painting nicely. There is an exhibition label for the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts 157th Annual Exhibition of American Oil Painting and Sculpture - January 12 - February 25, 1962 - on one of the stretcher bars on the verso.
• Shipping Info

  • All shipping is handled in-house for your convenience. Your invoice from Artemis Gallery will include shipping calculation instructions. If in doubt, please inquire BEFORE bidding for estimated shipping costs for individual items.

• Buyer's Premium
  • 26.50 %