Kurt Seligmann
Encyclopedia
Kurt Seligmann was a Swiss-American Surrealist painter
and engraver. He was known for his fantastic imagery of medieval troubadors and knights engaged in macabre ritual
s and inspired partially by the carnival
held annually in his native Basel, Switzerland.
He was born Kurt Leopold Seligmann in Basel, in 1900, the son of a successful furniture department store owner. His parents were not in favor of his artistic aspirations, but eventually relented. After study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Geneva
and several unhappy years working in his father's business in Basel, Seligmann left for Paris where he looked up his old friends from Geneva, sculptor Alberto Giacometti
and art critic Pierre Courthion. During this time he also met Ivy Langton (who may have become an artist due to inspiration from Kurt). Through Giacometti he met Hans Arp and Jean Helion
, who admired his sinister biomorphic paintings and invited him to join their group, Abstraction-Creation Art Non-Figuratif. In the mid-1930s his work began to take on a more baroque
aspect, as he animated the prancing figures in his paintings and etchings with festoons of ribbons, drapery, and heraldic paraphernalia.
It was about this time (1935) that he met and married Arlette Paraf, a granddaughter of the founder of the Wildenstein Gallery, which had locations in Paris, London, and New York. Together they traveled extensively, first around the world during a year-long honey-moon trip in 1936 and then to North America and British Columbia (1938) to satisfy their interest in American ethnographic art. In 1937, Seligmann was accepted as a formal member of the Surrealist group in Paris by André Breton
, who collected his work and included him in Surrealist exhibitions.
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Seligmann was the first European Surrealist to arrive in New York, ostensibly for an exhibition of his work being held at the Karl Nierendorf Gallery. Once there, however, with these artists being especial targets of the Nazis, he began a concerted effort to aid his Surrealist colleagues left behind in France and to bring them to safety. The copius correspondence he maintained during this difficult period is preserved in a collection at the Beinicke Rare Book Library at Yale University
.
Seligmann's art continued to evolve and reached maturity during the 1940s in the United States, where he did his best work. Beginning in 1940, he and Arlette lived at the Beaux Arts Building at Fortieth Street in Manhattan
, and later they acquired a farm north of the city in the hamlet of Sugar Loaf, in Orange County, New York. Seligmann befriended many American artists and became a close friend of the art historian, Meyer Schapiro
. With Schapiro as author, in 1944 he produced a limited edition set of six etchings illustrating the Myth of Oedipus
, surely his masterpiece in this medium and one of the greatest works of Surrealist printmaking
. As the Surrealists' expert on magic
, he also wrote a history of it, The Mirror of Magic (Pantheon Books, 1948). Mythology
and esoterica always infused the fascinating and turbulent imagery of his "dance macabre" paintings. His work then began to be exhibited widely and acquired by museums throughout the United States and Europe after the war.
Seligmann taught for many years at various colleges in New York City, particularly at Brooklyn College
, from which he retired in 1958. The changing nature of the New York art world, as it embraced Abstract Expressionism
, caused his work to be relegated to past art history and become perceived as passé. Due to illness, he gave up his Manhattan apartment and retired to his farm, where he died of an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wound in January 1962.
Shortly before her death in 1992, his widow, Arlette Seligmann, bequeathed the entire Seligmann estate to the Orange Country Citizens Foundation, a private nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation of Orange County
, New York. The foundation now serves as Seligmann's official estate and uses the Seligmann's 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) farm as their office. The U.S. copyright representative for the Orange County Citizen's Foundation and the estate of Kurt Seligmann is the Artists Rights Society
.
At the request of the Orange County Citizens Foundation, etching and collage
artist, Jonathan Talbot
, undertook the restoration of the etching press formerly owned by Kurt Seligmann, which is located on the Seligmann property in Sugar Loaf. The project is expected to be completed by August 2011.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and engraver. He was known for his fantastic imagery of medieval troubadors and knights engaged in macabre ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
s and inspired partially by the carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
held annually in his native Basel, Switzerland.
He was born Kurt Leopold Seligmann in Basel, in 1900, the son of a successful furniture department store owner. His parents were not in favor of his artistic aspirations, but eventually relented. After study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
and several unhappy years working in his father's business in Basel, Seligmann left for Paris where he looked up his old friends from Geneva, sculptor Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
and art critic Pierre Courthion. During this time he also met Ivy Langton (who may have become an artist due to inspiration from Kurt). Through Giacometti he met Hans Arp and Jean Helion
Jean Hélion
Jean Hélion was a French painter whose abstract work of the 1930s established him as a leading modernist. His midcareer rejection of abstraction was followed by nearly five decades as a figurative painter...
, who admired his sinister biomorphic paintings and invited him to join their group, Abstraction-Creation Art Non-Figuratif. In the mid-1930s his work began to take on a more baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
aspect, as he animated the prancing figures in his paintings and etchings with festoons of ribbons, drapery, and heraldic paraphernalia.
It was about this time (1935) that he met and married Arlette Paraf, a granddaughter of the founder of the Wildenstein Gallery, which had locations in Paris, London, and New York. Together they traveled extensively, first around the world during a year-long honey-moon trip in 1936 and then to North America and British Columbia (1938) to satisfy their interest in American ethnographic art. In 1937, Seligmann was accepted as a formal member of the Surrealist group in Paris by André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
, who collected his work and included him in Surrealist exhibitions.
At the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Seligmann was the first European Surrealist to arrive in New York, ostensibly for an exhibition of his work being held at the Karl Nierendorf Gallery. Once there, however, with these artists being especial targets of the Nazis, he began a concerted effort to aid his Surrealist colleagues left behind in France and to bring them to safety. The copius correspondence he maintained during this difficult period is preserved in a collection at the Beinicke Rare Book Library at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Seligmann's art continued to evolve and reached maturity during the 1940s in the United States, where he did his best work. Beginning in 1940, he and Arlette lived at the Beaux Arts Building at Fortieth Street in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and later they acquired a farm north of the city in the hamlet of Sugar Loaf, in Orange County, New York. Seligmann befriended many American artists and became a close friend of the art historian, Meyer Schapiro
Meyer Schapiro
Meyer Schapiro was a Lithuanian-born American art historian known for forging new art historical methodologies that incorporated an interdisciplinary approach to the study of works of art...
. With Schapiro as author, in 1944 he produced a limited edition set of six etchings illustrating the Myth of Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
, surely his masterpiece in this medium and one of the greatest works of Surrealist printmaking
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
. As the Surrealists' expert on magic
Magic
Magic may refer to:* Magic , the art of appearing to perform supernatural feats using sleight of hand or other methods* Magic , the use of paranormal methods to manipulate natural forces, such as witchcraft...
, he also wrote a history of it, The Mirror of Magic (Pantheon Books, 1948). Mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
and esoterica always infused the fascinating and turbulent imagery of his "dance macabre" paintings. His work then began to be exhibited widely and acquired by museums throughout the United States and Europe after the war.
Seligmann taught for many years at various colleges in New York City, particularly at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, from which he retired in 1958. The changing nature of the New York art world, as it embraced Abstract Expressionism
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
, caused his work to be relegated to past art history and become perceived as passé. Due to illness, he gave up his Manhattan apartment and retired to his farm, where he died of an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wound in January 1962.
Shortly before her death in 1992, his widow, Arlette Seligmann, bequeathed the entire Seligmann estate to the Orange Country Citizens Foundation, a private nonprofit corporation dedicated to the preservation of Orange County
Orange County, New York
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...
, New York. The foundation now serves as Seligmann's official estate and uses the Seligmann's 55 acres (222,577.3 m²) farm as their office. The U.S. copyright representative for the Orange County Citizen's Foundation and the estate of Kurt Seligmann is the Artists Rights Society
Artists Rights Society
Artists Rights Society is a copyright, licensing, and monitoring organization for visual artists in the United States. Founded in 1987, ARS represents the intellectual property rights interests of over 50,000 visual artists and estates of visual artists from around the world .- Member Artists &...
.
At the request of the Orange County Citizens Foundation, etching and collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
artist, Jonathan Talbot
Jonathan Talbot
Jonathan Talbot, is an American collage artist, painter, and printmaker. He also is the creator of an innovative collage technique that eliminates liquid adhesives from the collage assembly process...
, undertook the restoration of the etching press formerly owned by Kurt Seligmann, which is located on the Seligmann property in Sugar Loaf. The project is expected to be completed by August 2011.