Bidspirit auction | Jan Matulka ”Palms & Sailboats”

Jan Matulka ”Palms & Sailboats” Painting - Jan Matulka (Czech/American, 1890-1972). Oil on canvas painting titled ”Landscape with Palms and Sailboats, ” ca. 1920. Label from Richard York Gallery along the verso. Provenance: Thomas McCormick Gallery, Chicago, 1999; From the Estate of Gary Fink. Lot Essay: Jan Matulka was born in a small town in South Bohemia. While he took his first art classes in Prague, his family soon emigrated to New York City. He attended classes at the National Academy of Design and, upon his graduation, won a Joseph Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship. It was with this money that he traveled back to Europe, visiting Paris in 1919. He rented a studio and returned there throughout the 1920s. He began a long teaching career in 1925 at the Art Students League. Throughout his life, he taught artists such as Dorothy Dehner, Francis Criss, Brugoyne Diller, Irene Rice Pereira, David Smith, Jacob Burck, Esther Shemitz, and many more. Matulka painted continuously and often in differing styles depending on the time of day. He was known to create abstract works in the morning and end the day with landscapes. He joined the Public Works of Art Project as well as the Federal Art Project, painting murals. As Matulka aged he withdrew more and more from society, more so as his health failed. Throughout the latter part of his life, his works were subject to much acclaim when they were exhibited. During his life, he exhibited frequently at the Frank K. M. Rehn Gallery in New York. His posthumous credits include, among others, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the British Museum, and the Guggenheim. Gary C. Fink was a collector with both a lighthearted sense of humor and a serious commitment to art. Through the Museum Louvre It or Leave It, he offered Minnesotans an offbeat, thought-provoking experience; through MIA gifts, he broadened institutional collections; and through his scholarship, he continues to enable the next generation of artists. A Renaissance soul in the heart of Minnesota’s art community, Gary C. Fink was more than an astute collector - he was a spirited patron whose unconventional vision left an indelible mark on the creative landscape. Sight; height: 19 in x width: 22 in. Framed; height: 25 1/2 in x width: 28 1/2 in x depth: 2 1/2 in. Condition: Please email us at condition@revereauctions.com for a condition report or additional photos.