$11,070
Ilya Bolotowsky (Russian/American, 1907-1981) Diamond with Three Blues Signed and dated "Ilya Bolotowsky/69" l. r., titled on a label affixed to the stretcher. Acrylic on canvas, 42 1/4 x 42 1/4 in. (107.3 x 107.3 cm), framed (under glass). Condition: Minor puncture, craquelure, surface grime. N.B. Russian born, American painter and sculptor Ilya Bolotowsky immigrated to the United States when he was sixteen years old. During the 1930s, Bolotowsky connected with many of the European avant-garde artists who found themselves in the New York City. He became particularly close to Piet Mondrian who served as a mentor, teaching him the tenets of De Stijl, a movement that sought ideal harmony in the abstract use of color and line. Bolotowsky was also inspired by Joan Miró's Surrealist biomorphic forms and Pierre Matisse's bold, Fauvist colors, as he was able to see examples of their work in the New York galleries. Absorbing all of these influences, Bolotowsky advocated for abstract art in the U.S. at a time when Realism and Regionalism were dominant. He was a founding member of the "American Abstract Artists," and he painted numerous abstract murals under the auspices of government-sponsored programs, such as the WPA's Federal Art Project (FAP). Bolotowsky's 1936 Williamsburg Housing Project Mural was one of the first abstract murals done under the program. Throughout his career, Bolotowsky created variations on geometric abstraction. In the painting at hand, we see a s
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2016-09-23
