Circa 1920s "Ironworker" Portrait Oil Painting by John Garth, Framed

Description

Ruddy from the heat and red glow of a nearby iron furnace, this portrait of an iron worker is one … more Ruddy from the heat and red glow of a nearby iron furnace, this portrait of an iron worker is one of a rare group of laborer portraits painted by John Garth (1889-1971) in the 1920s. His other paintings depict generic workers, but in this case the painting is a portrait of Jo Kolinski. An article from the March 9, 1925 issue of the "Illustrated Daily Herald," which illustrates another iron worker painting by the artist, notes that "John Garth, youthful painter of San Francisco, who chose to paint five years without offering his work to the public and who recently held his first show at Gump's, combines with his admirable technic and feeling for color an understanding of life in many aspects." Garth was a giant among artists in San Francisco for many years, and served as Mural Director for the WPA Art Project there in the 1930s. He painted murals for the Sir Francis Drake Hotel and the University of California, among other clients, and also designed mosaic murals such as the famous "World Sources of Food" located in the Marina neighborhood of San Francisco. At one point he kept a studio at the Fairmount Hotel Studios, at the rear side of the famous hotel, and at other points a studio at the Artists Building a few blocks away, at 535 Sacramento Street. This painting was once owned by the Muskegon Museum of Art in western Michigan. less