73

WOLF KAHN

American, (1927-2020)

"Hamilton Saw Mill", 1984

oil on canvas
signed lower right "W. Kahn", numbered, dated and signed on the stretcher "93, 1984", numbered and dated on the reverse
16 x 30 inches

  • Provenance: Carone Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida,1985; Private Collection, Florida.

    Framed dimensions: 17 1/4 x 31 1/8 x 1 3/8 inches

    Wolf Kahn was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1927. He immigrated to the United States in 1940 where he attended the High School of Music and Art in New York and the University of Chicago. Kahn spent time in the Navy and, under the GI Bill, studied with Abstract Expressionist artist Hans Hofmann. He later became Hofmann's studio assistant and together with other former Hofmann students established Hansa Gallery.

    In 1968, Kahn and his wife, Emily Mason, purchased a farm in Vermont. Many of Kahn's paintings depict the Vermont and New England landscape where the couple would spend their summers and part of the fall. The rest of the year Kahn maintained a gallery in New York City on Broadway and later in Chelsea.

    Kahn and his contemporaries embraced the spontaneity and painterly qualities of Abstract Expressionism but applied them to representational compositions. Kahn depicted landscapes, fields, houses and barns from the New England area. He used bold colors and painterly brush strokes, working with oils and pastels. Although the paintings are representational, the main theme is atmosphere, color and light. This technique can be seen in the current example "Hamilton Saw Mill" from 1984. The mill is located in Brattleboro Vermont, where Kahn and his wife Emily Mason enjoyed their second home.

    In Kahn's paintings, there is a unique blend of Realism and Color Field theory. He successfully combines modernist Abstract Expressionism with the atmospheric qualities of Impressionism. He has said of his paintings, "I like to paint artificial colors that look like they're out of nature, I don't care whether they could be or not, I like the feeling that you have a sense that you've been there."1

    In 1956, Kahn joined the Grace Borgenicht Gallery where he exhibited regularly until 1995. In 2014, Ameringer McEnery Yohe Gallery held a retrospective exhibition of the past six-decades of Kahn's career. Kahn is currently represented by the Miles McEnery Gallery and his work is in many major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Hirshhorn Museum and the National Museum of American Art, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

    1 http://www.wolfkahn.com/writing/wolf-kahn-and-six-decades-of-color



    Tags: oil painting, abstract expressionist, 20th century, landscape, modern / contemporary
  • Condition: excellent original condition, unlined

    We are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Shannon’s is merely a subjective qualified opinion. Frames on all paintings are sold "As Is". Frames may need some conservation. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD “AS IS” IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE. 

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