John Kashdan (artist)
Encyclopedia
John Erhart Kashdan was an English painter
, printmaker and teacher of Russian Jewish descent. He married Sheila Monteagle Browne in 1939 (three sons - Paul Michael, Peter John and Ivan Nicholas and one daughter - Anna Rosemary). He remarried Marthe Lochner in 1973.
,London to a Russian Jewish father, 'Jack' Kashdan, and English mother, Maud. At 12, he decided to become an artist, but left school at 14 to become a dentist's assistant. Attending Charles Genge's evening classes at the Working Men's Institute in Bethnal Green led to him applying to the Royal Academy
schools.
He started at the Royal Academy
schools in 1936, winning an RA Gold Medal in his first year and British Institute and Landseer Scholarships. He used the travelling scholarship to visit the south of France
between 1936-39.
In 1940, Kashdan turned down a grant at the Royal College of Art and moved to Cambridge in 1943. Work painted in this period showed the influence of Picasso, Braque and Juan Gris
.
Kashdan had his first one man show at the Redfern Gallery in 1945 after encouragement from fellow artist Gustav Kahnweiler. Kashdan's work mainly featured still lifes, using flamboyant colour and bold lines. Acquaintance Henry Moore
brought Kashdan's work to the attention of James J Sweeney, of the Museum of Modern Art
, New York who displayed his work there in 1946.
During the 1940s and 1950s Kashdan produced a broad array of monotype prints, influenced by Paul Klee
and his artist friend Richard Ziegler. Ziegler introduced Kashdan to a print-making process he developed using transfer drawing and duplicator paper; Kashdan would use this technique for many pieces during this time. Another method adopted by Kashdan was etching on to acetate and a simple form of screenprinting. His work in this period used archetypal human forms and sinister tones to represent the suffering themes of the Second World War. An associate of Klee's, Jankel Adler saw Kashdan's prints and introduced him to Robert Colquhoun, Robert MacBryde and John Minton. Inspired by Kashdan's work they began to create their own monotypes.
Kashdan moved away from the art world towards the middle of the 1940s, though his monotypes and drawings were exhibited in 1947 at the Art Institute of Chicago and, in 1948, at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. Taking up a teaching post at the Royal Naval College, Devon in 1946, he then moved to Guildford School of Art in 1951 withdrawing from public exhibitions for 38 years(except a poster design for London Transport and a small group exhibition at Surrey University in 1971).
After the Guildford sit-in , Kashdan and 40 other staff were sacked. He was moved to Epsom College of Art as tutor librarian where he retired in 1982.
After his retirement, Kashdan's paintings and monotypes were once more publicly displayed in a retrospective of his work from 1940 - 55 at England & co gallery, London. Following the exhibition, the British Museum's department of prints and drawings acquired a selection of Kashdan's work. The Museum then displayed parts of this collection in their Avant-Garde British Printmaking 1914-60 exhibition in 1990. The last exhibition of his work in Kashdan's lifetime was in 1991, displaying a collection of his monotypes from 1941-91.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, printmaker and teacher of Russian Jewish descent. He married Sheila Monteagle Browne in 1939 (three sons - Paul Michael, Peter John and Ivan Nicholas and one daughter - Anna Rosemary). He remarried Marthe Lochner in 1973.
Biography
John Kashdan was born in IslingtonIslington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
,London to a Russian Jewish father, 'Jack' Kashdan, and English mother, Maud. At 12, he decided to become an artist, but left school at 14 to become a dentist's assistant. Attending Charles Genge's evening classes at the Working Men's Institute in Bethnal Green led to him applying to the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
schools.
He started at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
schools in 1936, winning an RA Gold Medal in his first year and British Institute and Landseer Scholarships. He used the travelling scholarship to visit the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
between 1936-39.
In 1940, Kashdan turned down a grant at the Royal College of Art and moved to Cambridge in 1943. Work painted in this period showed the influence of Picasso, Braque and Juan Gris
Juan Gris
José Victoriano González-Pérez , better known as Juan Gris, was a Spanish painter and sculptor who lived and worked in France most of his life...
.
Kashdan had his first one man show at the Redfern Gallery in 1945 after encouragement from fellow artist Gustav Kahnweiler. Kashdan's work mainly featured still lifes, using flamboyant colour and bold lines. Acquaintance Henry Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
brought Kashdan's work to the attention of James J Sweeney, of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York who displayed his work there in 1946.
During the 1940s and 1950s Kashdan produced a broad array of monotype prints, influenced by Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
and his artist friend Richard Ziegler. Ziegler introduced Kashdan to a print-making process he developed using transfer drawing and duplicator paper; Kashdan would use this technique for many pieces during this time. Another method adopted by Kashdan was etching on to acetate and a simple form of screenprinting. His work in this period used archetypal human forms and sinister tones to represent the suffering themes of the Second World War. An associate of Klee's, Jankel Adler saw Kashdan's prints and introduced him to Robert Colquhoun, Robert MacBryde and John Minton. Inspired by Kashdan's work they began to create their own monotypes.
Kashdan moved away from the art world towards the middle of the 1940s, though his monotypes and drawings were exhibited in 1947 at the Art Institute of Chicago and, in 1948, at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. Taking up a teaching post at the Royal Naval College, Devon in 1946, he then moved to Guildford School of Art in 1951 withdrawing from public exhibitions for 38 years(except a poster design for London Transport and a small group exhibition at Surrey University in 1971).
After the Guildford sit-in , Kashdan and 40 other staff were sacked. He was moved to Epsom College of Art as tutor librarian where he retired in 1982.
After his retirement, Kashdan's paintings and monotypes were once more publicly displayed in a retrospective of his work from 1940 - 55 at England & co gallery, London. Following the exhibition, the British Museum's department of prints and drawings acquired a selection of Kashdan's work. The Museum then displayed parts of this collection in their Avant-Garde British Printmaking 1914-60 exhibition in 1990. The last exhibition of his work in Kashdan's lifetime was in 1991, displaying a collection of his monotypes from 1941-91.