Lawrence Rothbort, Studio Interior Still Life with Carved Wood Sculpture

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Lawrence Rothbort 1920-1963 Lawrence Rothbort, son of American Impressionist - Samuel Rothbort, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1920, and … Read more Lawrence Rothbort 1920-1963 Lawrence Rothbort, son of American Impressionist - Samuel Rothbort, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1920, and achieved fame for his expressionist style painting, earning comparison to Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh. At age 16 he dropped out of High School and became an avid reader of philosophy, religion and mysticism which, eventually, led him to become a moral vegetarian. As a pacifist during World War II - he refused to serve in the military. A requirement therefore, was to work on farms due to the manpower shortage. For one year at the age of 24, he left home for the Pocono's where he would live as a hermit , living off the land and closely observing nature. Rothbort returned home in 1945 determined to become an artist. As a self-trained artist, he worked non-stop, seven days a week, grinding his own paints, experimenting in oils, watercolors, pen & ink. He developed several new techniques such as the patient application of paint with sharpened twigs to the canvas, and the combination of oil painting with glass. He created enormous mosaics and it was not unusual for a piece to take several months to complete. Rothbort's first showing was in 1947 at the Barzansky Gallery in Manhattan. The reviews were excellent, comparing his pen & ink to those of the Elder Bruegal. His oils "outstanding", where he was praised by critics as a descendent of Gauguin. In 1956, he married a young piano teacher with whom he had three children. In 1956 they moved to Florida where he completed three major works, one of which was an enormous mosaic of his wife nursing their first born surrounded by everything they owned. The work is reminiscent of Medieval Madonna's. Rothbort returned to Brooklyn in 1960 and established a small gallery behind his family's apartment. He would often travel with his supplies in a carriage to various locations throughout Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn painting from location, never touching up or finishing his outdoor work in a studio. He felt it was extremely important to be in direct contact with the subject being painted in order to convey its true feeling. He referred to this as " Direct Art ". In 1963, in an attempted robbery at his gallery. Rothbort was shot to death, leaving behind a pregnant wife and two children. His death sparked a memorial exhibit a few months later at the Riverside Gallery, where he received many outstanding newspaper reviews praising his work. A writer for the New York Post stated - " If some of the gallery visitors came looking for the birth of an American Van Gogh, not all of them go away disappointed ". Lawrence Rothbort did not sign his work, as he always claimed his work was to original to have been done by anyone else. See less