New Realism Watercolor Portrait of a Young Girl by Ben Silbert (1893-1940)

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This is not a joyful young girl free of worry. Instead, based on her expression in 1922 when this portrait … Read more This is not a joyful young girl free of worry. Instead, based on her expression in 1922 when this portrait was done. by American artist Ben Silbert (1893-1940), the sitter’s childhood appears to be effectively over. With one of her two good dresses covered in an apron, hair caught in a tidy braid, she has already had more than her share of labor.
The painting’s style is a form of realism that was prevalent in early 20th-century European art, sometimes categorized as New Realism or Expressionism. Here the focus is on capturing the subject in a contemplative pose—one that only hints at the total resignation yet to come.
A painter and watercolorist of Russian (Belarus) origin, Silbert was best known for his portraits and landscape scenes from his travels. Active primarily between the two World Wars, he was a key figure in the avant-garde circles of Paris and Chicago, where he had earlier studied at the Art Institute. After serving in World War I, he moved to Paris to study under the Mexican painter Ángel Zárraga. Throughout the 1930s, he traveled to the Samoa Islands, Bali, Laos, Cambodia and Yugoslavia, creating numerous portraits and scenic views.
Silbert's works are held in several prestigious collections including the Brooklyn Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Signature: Lower left. Image: 23.5 x 19.25 See less