Recent Arrivals

Insights into historic American artwork newly available from galleries and dealers around the country

Carl Holty (1900-1973), Untitled (Abstract Painting) ca. 1940. Oil on Masonite, 35¾ x 23½ in., labels on the reverse from Huntington Art Gallery and Blanton Museum of Art. Courtesy Thomas Colville Fine Art, Guilford, CT.

Carl Holty (1907-1973)
Untitled (Abstract Painting)

Carl Holty was a German-born American abstract painter. Raised in Wisconsin, he was among the earliest American abstract painters and one of the founding members of the Abstract American Artists, as well as its chairman. After studying briefly at the Art Institute of Chicago, Holty moved to New York where he enrolled at Parsons School of Design and then, National Academy of Design. Holty returned to Milwaukee in the early 1920s before going to Munich where he attended Hans Hofmann’s school, which turned out to be transformative. A recent acquisition of Thomas Colville Fine Art, this untitled work is from 1940, when Holty was back in New York immersed in vanguard art circles. The piece was donated to the Archer M. Huntington Gallery at the University of Texas at Austin (now the Blanton Museum of Art) in 1969 by fellow abstract artist Charmion von Wiegand.

Thomas Colville Fine Art 111 Old Quarry Road • Guilford, CT 06437 • (203) 453-2449 • tlc@thomascolville.com www.thomascolville.com

Ben Shahn (1898-1969), Susannah and the Elders, 1947. Watercolor and ink on paper, 22 x 29¾ in., signed lower right. Courtesy Lincoln Glenn, New York, NY.

Ben Shahn (1898-1969)
Susannah and the Elders

This 1947 work exemplifies Ben Shahn’s signature graphic style, characterized by a wirly, energetic ink line and flat washes of color. The work reinterprets the biblical story of Susannah, a virtuous woman falsely accused by two elders. The medium and technique are hallmarks of his practice, stemming from his early training as a lithographer and his preference for water-based media like tempera and gouache, which enhanced the linear quality of his compositions.

Created in the post-war period, Susannah and the Elders is a prime example of Shahn’s shift from the direct social reportage of the 1930s to what he termed “personal realism.” He began using allegorical, biblical and mythological subjects to critique contemporary political anxieties, most notably the encroaching fear of McCarthyism.

In 1947, Shahn was at the zenith of his career and critical acclaim. This work was created concurrently with his major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, where it was prominently exhibited, a testament to its perceived importance at the time of its creation. Its subsequent inclusion in the prestigious 1954 Venice Biennale further cemented its status as a key work. The intensifying Cold War climate provided the immediate context for Shahn’s turn to allegory...solidifying his reputation as a conscientious objector to political oppression.

The work has phenomenal provenance including modern furniture designer Edward Wormley and theater director Hal Prince.

Lincoln Glenn 17 East 67th Street, Suite 1A • New York, NY 10065 • 542 West 24th Street • New York, NY 10011 • (646) 764-9065 • gallery@lincolnglenn.com • www.lincolnglenn.com