Irvin and Bonnie Burkee Sterling Silver American Modernist Necklace

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Sterling silver abstract modernist necklace created by Irvin and Bonnie Burkee, circa 1950's. Necklace has a 17" wearable neck length … Read more Sterling silver abstract modernist necklace created by Irvin and Bonnie Burkee, circa 1950's. Necklace has a 17" wearable neck length and is signed Burkee, Sterling on reverse. In very good vintage 1950's condition.

Artist Biography: Irvin Burkee 1918-2007

Irvin Burkee was born February 6, 1918 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He and his wife moved to Colorado in the late 1940s, first to Central City, Colorado then in 1955 to Aspen, Colorado, and later in the early 1970s the couple moved to Arizona.

Upon venturing West from Wisconsin, Burkee was immediately entranced by the inherent aesthetic allure of Colorado and his Southwestern surroundings. Throughout his artistic career Irvin Burkee portrayed the native Americans on horseback, mountainous landscapes, rugged red rock hills, magical and colorful skies, and flora such as the tall blossoming century plants, prickly pear cactus, yucca trees, desert cedar trees and fauna such as javelina and red tailed hawks.

He studied for six years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with Boris Anisfeld, the great Russian Master. Having received yearly scholarships, he was awarded a foreign travel fellowship. Upon returning from the fellowship he married Bonnie May Ness, who had been a fellow student at the Art Institute of Chicago, and he was appointed to the faculty of the Art Department of the University of Colorado and later to Stephens College, all the while continuing to paint.

Withdrawing from teaching to pursue the arts in his studio, his first venture was to found the Burkee Jewelry Studio with his wife Bonnie in Blackhawk, Colorado. Later, upon moving to Aspen, Colorado he began working in many media including painting, sculpting in bronze and marble, and creating large metal panels. He and Bonnie maintained a studio and a downtown Aspen gallery. His audience was national and international and painting remained his primary focus.

He also created sculpture, wall murals, and architectural work for private residences and public spaces. He received a Smithsonian award for his silversmithing, and was appointed a member of the National Sculpture Society of New York. His large metal panels are installed in the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies in Aspen Colorado, and his large metal mural of the History of Colorado is in the collection of the Colorado Historical Society.

He and Bonnie acquired resident citizenships in Pietrasanta, Italy to further their work with bronze sculpture, spending time in the foundry there. In 1978 he and Bonnie established their studio in the Verde Valley, Arizona, and he continued to create, showing in galleries in Sedona and Scottsdale, Arizona, Monterey California, and New Jersey.

Irvin Burkee passed in 2007. See less