Wolf Kahn
Encyclopedia
Wolf Kahn is a German
-born American
painter
.
Kahn is known for his combination of realism
and Color Field
, and known to work in pastel
and oil paint
. He studied under Hans Hofmann
, and also graduated from the University of Chicago
. Kahn is a resident of both New York City
and, during the summer and autumn, West Brattleboro, Vermont
.
and in 1940 moved to the United States of America
.
He attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City
and graduated in 1945. Under the GI Bill, he was able to continue his studies with abstract expressionist Hans Hofmann
at the Hans Hofmann School. He became Hofmann’s studio assistant. He enrolled for a degree from the University of Chicago in 1950 and completed this in only one year, receiving a Bachelor's Degree in 1951.
His wife Emily Mason
is also a painter. They have two daughters, Cecily and Melany.
and his own personal vision of nature. His convergence of light and colour has been described as combining pictorial landscapes and painterly abstraction.
Ameringer & Yohe, his gallery, state (in the biography on his official website)
, and an Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
His official biography indicates that he is a member of the National Academy of Design
and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
In 2005 the Smithsonian Art Collectors Program commissioned Kahn to produce a print to benefit the cultural and educational programs of the Smithsonian Associates. The screen print, entitled Aura, hangs in the Graphic Eloquence exhibit in the S. Dillon Ripley Center
in the National Mall
.
Wolf Kahn is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for Marlboro College
, in Marlboro, VT.
Wolf Kahn regularly exhibits at galleries and museums across North America.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-born American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
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...
.
Kahn is known for his combination of realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
and Color Field
Color Field
Color Field painting is a style of abstract painting that emerged in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s. It was inspired by European modernism and closely related to Abstract Expressionism, while many of its notable early proponents were among the pioneering Abstract Expressionists...
, and known to work in pastel
Pastel
Pastel is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of pure powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are the same as those used to produce all colored art media, including oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation....
and oil paint
Oil paint
Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varnish may be added to increase the glossiness of the...
. He studied under Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann was a German-born American abstract expressionist painter.-Biography:Hofmann was born in Weißenburg, Bavaria on March 21, 1880, the son of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann. When he was six he moved with his family to Munich...
, and also graduated from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Kahn is a resident of both New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and, during the summer and autumn, West Brattleboro, Vermont
West Brattleboro, Vermont
West Brattleboro is a census-designated place in the town of Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,222 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
.
Biography
Wolf Kahn was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1927. He states that he began drawing at the age of 4. In 1939, at the age of 12 he fled Germany for EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and in 1940 moved to the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
He attended the High School of Music and Art in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and graduated in 1945. Under the GI Bill, he was able to continue his studies with abstract expressionist Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann
Hans Hofmann was a German-born American abstract expressionist painter.-Biography:Hofmann was born in Weißenburg, Bavaria on March 21, 1880, the son of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann. When he was six he moved with his family to Munich...
at the Hans Hofmann School. He became Hofmann’s studio assistant. He enrolled for a degree from the University of Chicago in 1950 and completed this in only one year, receiving a Bachelor's Degree in 1951.
His wife Emily Mason
Emily Mason
Emily Mason is an American abstract painter.Mason is known for her work in Color Field painting and Lyrical Abstraction. She was born and raised in New York City, where she continues to reside....
is also a painter. They have two daughters, Cecily and Melany.
Wolf Kahn's Art
Wolf Kahn works in oils and pastels. His works usually covers the subject of landscapesLandscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
and his own personal vision of nature. His convergence of light and colour has been described as combining pictorial landscapes and painterly abstraction.
Ameringer & Yohe, his gallery, state (in the biography on his official website)
The unique blend of Realism and the formal discipline of Color Field painting sets the work of Wolf Kahn apart. Kahn is an artist who embodies the synthesis of his modern abstract training with Hans Hofmann, with the palette of Matisse, Rothko's sweeping bands of color, and the atmospheric qualities of American Impressionism. It is precisely this fusion of color, spontaneity and representation that has produced such a rich and expressive body of work.
Awards and Memberships
Wolf Kahn has received a number of awards including a Fulbright Scholarship, a John Simon Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, and an Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
His official biography indicates that he is a member of the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
In 2005 the Smithsonian Art Collectors Program commissioned Kahn to produce a print to benefit the cultural and educational programs of the Smithsonian Associates. The screen print, entitled Aura, hangs in the Graphic Eloquence exhibit in the S. Dillon Ripley Center
S. Dillon Ripley Center
The S. Dillon Ripley Center, better known simply as the Ripley Center, is one of the buildings of the Smithsonian Institution series of museums located in the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The above-ground portion is only a small pagoda, and it descends into a larger underground portion...
in the National Mall
National Mall
The National Mall is an open-area national park in downtown Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The National Mall is a unit of the National Park Service , and is administered by the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit...
.
Wolf Kahn is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for Marlboro College
Marlboro College
Marlboro College is a small, coeducational, alternative liberal-arts college in Marlboro, Vermont, USA.-History:Marlboro College was founded in 1946 by Walter Hendricks for returning World War II veterans on Potash Hill in Marlboro, Vermont. The school's operation was initially financed using money...
, in Marlboro, VT.
Museum Collections
According to his official website, Mr Kahn has work in the following museum collections:- the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY;
- the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY;
- the Boca Raton Museum of ArtBoca Raton Museum of ArtThe Boca Raton Museum of Art is located at 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, Florida in Mizner Park. It houses works of art by a number of the great masters.-About:...
, Boca Raton, FL; - the Memorial Gallery Permanent Collection, University of Rochester, NY;
- the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA;
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.
- the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, D.C.;
- the Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, CA.;
- Minnesota Museum of American Art
- National Academy of Design
Wolf Kahn regularly exhibits at galleries and museums across North America.
Notable works
- Evening Glow (Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, New York)
- My Barn on a Summer Night, 1982 (Hirshhorn Museum)
- Pond in November, 1977 (National Academy of DesignNational Academy of DesignThe National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
)