Early 20th Century Dutch Style Interior Scene in Oil on Canvas by Joseph Tomanek

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Woman with Two Children in Red - Interior Scene in Oil on Canvas

Lovely interior scene by notable artist Joseph … Read more Woman with Two Children in Red - Interior Scene in Oil on Canvas

Lovely interior scene by notable artist Joseph Tomanek (Cech-American, 1889-1974). A woman sits near a window, holding a small child dressed in bright red in her lap. Another child, somewhat older, stands next to her, looking at the young child. Soft lights spills though the window, illuminating the scene in a warm glow. A plant with red flowers sits on the windowsill, and foliage can be seen outside.

Signed "Tomanek" in the lower right corner (note that the shape above the signature is a toy train)
Presented in a carved wood frame with a linen liner.
Frame size: 30.75"H x 26.75"W
Canvas size: 24"H x 20"W

Tomanek, the son of a carpenter, was born in Moravia. His family discouraged his art talent and wanted him to be a shoemaker. He studied in his homeland of Czechoslovakia at the School of Design in Prague. He emigrated to America around the turn of the century and arrived in Chicago in 1910 and worked as an interior decorator. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and studied with Antonin Sterba. He also studied with Albert Krehbiel and K.A. Buehr.

He was a member of the Bohemian Artist Club, Association of Chicago Painters, and Sculptors, and the Chicago Gallery Association. His work is included in the collection of the Vanderpoel Art Association (Chicago). He exhibited from the 1910s-40s, including exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Georgia Museum of Art.

Of the difficulty of posing nudes in Chicago, he said, "In Paris you can rent little gardens studios and pose your models there in privacy. Here, if I work out of doors, I have to pose the girls in bathing suits. Take them to the forest preserves, and they complain about the mosquitos. Even on my studio roof I get no privacy. An airplane pilot spots you and swoops down to satisfy his curiosity, but at my summer home at Ogden Dunes, I have overcome these little difficulties."

Often he used several models for one nude painting, one for the face, another for the feet and another for the body. His favorite model was his wife, a small brunette whom he met when she modeled at the Art Institute of Chicago.

He also painted floral still lives, and religious subjects of which many were painted for local Roman Catholic churches. One of his murals, 50 feet long, was installed at the altar of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Forest Park. He was also a commercial artist of billboard advertisements. See less