'Abstract in Saffron and Tourmaline' by John Von Wicht, New York School, Works Progress Administration

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Signed lower right, 'V. Wicht' for John Von Wicht (German-American, 1888-1970) and painted circa 1965.

Born in Germany, this abstract … Read more Signed lower right, 'V. Wicht' for John Von Wicht (German-American, 1888-1970) and painted circa 1965.

Born in Germany, this abstract expressionist painter, muralist, printmaker, mosaicist, and stained glass artist immigrated to New York City in the 1920's, where he lived and painted for the remainder of his life.

John Von Wicht first attended the Bauhaus School and, subsequently, the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin. In 1908, he also studied at the private art school of the Grand Duke of Hesse. During World War I, he served in the German army and received wounds which left him partially paralyzed.

In New York City in the 1930s, John Von Wicht was an active WPA artist, working beside Stuart Davis, Byron Browne and Louis Schanker. His murals, mosaics and stained glass can be found in public buildings in numerous cities including the Federal Court House in Knoxville, Tennessee and the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Trenton, New Jersey. Over the course of a long and successful career, he exhibited widely and with success in the United States, including at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Corcoran Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts and the 1939 New York World's Fair among others. He also exhibited throughout Europe including in Berlin, Munich, Paris, Brussels, Barcelona and Madrid and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards.

In addition to his career as a fine artist, Von Wicht was also a respected teacher. In 1951 and 1952, he taught at the Art Students League in New York and, in 1953, the John Herron Art Institute. Additionally, in 1954, he was honored with a residency at the MacDowell Colony. John Von Wicht is listed in all relevant art reference works including Who Was Who in American Art and the Vollmer Supplement of Thieme Becker. The artist is also listed in 'American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s: An Illustrated Survey With Artists' (Ed. Marika Herskovic), a first edition copy of which accompanies this painting.

Source:
Vollmer Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler des 20. Jarhhunderts, Hans Vollmer, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 5, page 125; Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 3, page 3424; Marika Herskovic, Editor, "American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s"; et al. See less