20th C. American Artist Raoul Middleman (1935-2021). African American Female Nude

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LARGE PAINTING African American Female Nude RAOUL MIDDLEMAN Baltimore Maryland

Large abstract expressionist painting of a seated African American female … Read more LARGE PAINTING African American Female Nude RAOUL MIDDLEMAN Baltimore Maryland

Large abstract expressionist painting of a seated African American female nude.

By 20th c. American artist Raoul Middleman (1935-2021).

Acquired from the collection of David Sellin, who was one of Middleman's instructors during his time at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1959-1960.
Biography from Wikipedia: Middleman was an American painter known for his "provocatively prolific work--primarily traditional, including figure studies, landscapes, and still lifes--and for being a megawatt personality." He was a member of the Maryland Institute College of Art faculty from 1961 on. In a 2009 Baltimore City Paper article Bret McCabe described Middleman's paintings as featuring "... expressive strokes, a tight control over an earthy palette, a romantic tone slightly offset by a penetrating eye —becomes distinctive even if you haven’t seen them before, so strongly does he articulate his old-fashioned sensibility in his works.”

American University Museum at the Katzen Center described Middleman as a "Baltimore maestro [whose] nudes are not pretty—they are sagging, dimpled, and real. His cityscapes reveal the underbelly of post-industrial rot, his narrative paintings give contemporary life to his personal obsessions. They are intelligent, messy, and utterly masterful.

Mike Guliano also writing in the Baltimore City Paper said “Middleman's theatrical and somewhat claustrophobic portraits remain firmly within a studio environment; when he goes to the country, people pretty much drop from the scene. It's as if the landscape itself is so completely exposed that placing a female nude out there would be redundant.

Paintings by Middleman can be found in private and corporate collections such as Baltimore Museum of Art, MD; Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; National Gallery of Art, Washington DC; Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; National Academy of Design, NY; New York Public Library, NY; and Syracuse University, NY.

Oil on canvas.

Unsigned, but attributed to Middleman by his wife and son (my thanks to them for their assistance).

Measures 66" x 44". See less