Lot 74
Morris Kantor (Russian-American, 1896-1974). "Nocturne" oil on canvas, ca. 1960s. Signed by the artist on the upper right. Morris Kantor's painting entitled "Nocturne" suggests associations with a term that James Abbott McNeill Whistler used for paintings evocative of the night or subjects veiled by light or viewed at night or twilight. Whistler further associated Nocturnes with French musical compositions of the same name that were also inspired by the night. Kantor's Nocturne visions are comprised of various biomorphic forms and expressive gestural imagery. All is delineated in a dreamy palette of royal blue, dove grey, violet, jet black, ruby red, sienna, ochre, peach, and tangerine hues. A striking painting in which Kantor drew associations with Whistler's abstract night scenes as well as French musical nocturnes. Size: 49.875" L x 46" W (126.7 cm x 116.8 cm)
Born in Minsk, Russia (now Belarus) Morris Kantor immigrated to the United States in 1906 when he was just a child. There is some debate as to whether he was with family or alone, but we know that he was very young, lived in New York City, and earned enough money working in the Garment District to enroll in art school by age 20. Kantor began attending the Independent School of Art in New York in 1916 and went on to teach at Cooper Union during the 1940s and the Art Students League from 1936 to 1972. Many of his students - including Robert Rauschenberg, Knox Martin, Susan Weil, and Sigmund Abeles - became quite famous in their own right.
Kantor maintained a studio in Manhattan, close to Union Square, as well as on Cape Cod in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. During the 1920s, he also worked in Paris. His arts circle included notable modernists such as the sculptor Isamu Noguchi. During the 1930s, Kantor supervised a Federal Arts Project Easel Painting Project in Rockland County, New York. The following decade he spent some summers in Monhegan, Maine, and in the 1960s his work was shown at Bertha Schaefer Gallery in New York City. Kantor's work has also been exhibited at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other prestigious institutions. His honors include receiving the Logan Medal of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Temple Medal of the University of Illinois. Kantor's oeuvre was vast and impressive, as he explored numerous styles ranging from realism colored by a hint of Surrealism to abstract movements including Cubism and Futurism.
Provenance: Private M. C. collection, Irvine, California, USA; Ex-Morris Kantor collection
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#168232
- Condition: This painting is signed by the artist on the upper right. Slight scuffs to peripheries that are difficult to see. Otherwise the painting is in very nice condition overall. "Nocturne M. Kantor" is handwritten on a label attached to one of the stretcher bars. The number 104 also appears on stretcher bars - perhaps an exhibition or catalogue number.
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