1960s "Wyoming Abstract #4" Abstract Landscape Painting by Erle Loran

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Stunning pastel on paper of Wyoming by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Erle Loran was a modernist of urban and coastal … Read more Stunning pastel on paper of Wyoming by Erle Loran (American, 1905-1999). Erle Loran was a modernist of urban and coastal views and geometric painting. Signed lower left." Unframed. Image, 14"H x 17"L. Condition: minor age toning to edges and pastel smudges.

Erle Loran was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Art under the direction of Cameron Booth. His talent was recognized early when in 1926 he won the Paris Prize, which provided him the benefit of a traveling scholarship to Europe where he lived in the studio of Paul Cézanne.

In 1936 Loran moved to California to take up a position teaching at the University of California at Berkeley where he eventually became Chairman of the Art Department. He invited the painter Hans Hofmann to be a visiting professor. Hofmann influenced Loran to become more abstract in his work.

In 1943 Loran published his book Cézanne's Composition, examining the artist's work theoretically from the approach of forms and spatial factors. It was an immediate success with artists, teachers, and critics and is still available in print. See less