Emil Bisttram

My new recently discovered artist today is Emil Bisttram. Bisttram was born in Hungry and moved to America in 1895. This artist is most noted for his work created in Santa Fe, and Taos, New Mexico. Bisttram is also credited with being one of the founding members of the Transcendental Painting Group.




Early in his career, Bisttram’s began working with spiritual, scientific, and philosophical themes. Some of his abstract creations involved the use of dynamic symmetry. He later combined this work with various spiritual systems.



Many believe Metropolis to be one of the most significant paintings by Emil Bisttram before he moved to New Mexico. The Metropolis is a large vertical oil painting on canvas.  In this painting, Bisttram used dynamic symmetry.  He included tall triangular buildings in this spectacular painting that represented skyscrapers in New York .



Emil Bisttram was thought to have played a significant role in the development of modernist forms in American art.

Frank Owen Gehry - Architect Designer

Frank Owen Gehry is another great artist I discovered while looking through an exhibition catalog.    This American artist is probably better known for being an architect.  Gehry was extremely creative and used his talents to develop innovative designs.

American architect, Frank Gehry worked with the Formica Corporation in using a new product similar to an earlier Formica called ColorCore. As Gehry experimented with this material he developed something that looked like fish scales.  Later he created lamps in the shape of a fish using this material.  From this discovery he designed Fish Lamp, 1983.

His most important commission was for the fish sculpture created for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.   This sculpture developed from Gehry's work with the Fish Lamp.  You can also find an installation by Frank Owen Gehry at the Walker Art Center.

Architect, designer, artist, all are words that describe Frank Owen Gehry.  What makes Gehry stand out from many other architects is his design work and artistic  innovations using man-made materials.

Andre Demain - Man of Color

This article continues with my series of artists newly discovered.   The artist chosen for today’s article is Andre Derain.    As previously mentioned these are not necessarily new artist but are individuals previously unknown to me.    Andre Derain was born in Paris and lived from 1880 to 1954.

Although Derain was not as popular,  he is closely associated with Matisse.  Drain was part of the group led by Matisse Fauves.  The Fauvism movement was introduced in 1905 when a group of artists exhibited in a salon.   The work by these artists was new and different for the time and received a great deal of public criticism.  Derain like Matisse was influenced by Cezanne and Gauguin. 

What is interesting about Andre Derain is that he has been given little credit for the Fauvism movement.  Matisse is thought of more closely with this movement.  Derain’s work, however, was more Fauvist before Matisse’s.   He was also an early Cubist.

Derain’s best work was landscapes.  One of his famous paintings, “Big Ben”, depicts how the artist used bright clashing colors with expressive brushstrokes to distort reality.  The painting was created in 1905.  Derain’s work in his later years was influenced by the Old Masters and was not as exciting or colorful.

Discovering George Grosz

The newly discovered artist I am writing about today is George Grosz. As I have mentioned in previous writings these are not necessarily new artist but are individuals previously unknown to me.  Grosz a German born artist but was also a teacher and lived during the time artists expressed their political feelings through their work.  He taught at the Art Students League in New York.

Because he disliked all forms of dictatorial authority, George Grosz left Germany in 1932 before Hitler took over.  Grosz’s work, Ecce Home, a collection of drawings created in 1923 reflected his responses during World War I.  Some would say that some of his work, although political and satirical, was often demeaning.

George Grosz was influenced by Expressionism and Futurism.  Grosz later changed his style of art and subject matter when he came to America.  After 1933, the styles of his artwork seem to soften.  He mostly painted landscapes and traditional nudes. He exhibited often and opened a studio in his home. 

Jean Simeon Chardin

As I continue to write about new artist I have recently discovered, I decided I would report on a artist that lived many years ago.   Today’s artist is Jean Simeon Chardin.  This great master of still-life painting was born at the start of the 18th century in Paris.   His work was widely distributed and he experienced success due to his work.  He has been influential on several later artists.  

What makes Chardin so interesting is that he was very elusive.   It appears he was well known for his art work but not much was known about his personal life.  Chardin had three biographers following his death but none knew much about the painter’s personality.  He was described as simple, straightforward and hardworking.

It could be said that much of Chardin’s paintings were a lot like his life was described.  His paintings were simple domestic interiors with naturalistic renderings of everyday objects.  Late in life Chardin abandoned paintings and created portraits with pastels. Some believe the self-portraits produced by Chardin before his death provided more insight into the man than all of his biographies combined.

Charles Biederman

I recently read an article about abstract painter that was probably ahead of his time.  As I continue to discover new artists (artist not previously known to me) I have chosen to write about Charles Biederman. Biederman was born in Cleveland in 1906.  This American artist originally wanted to study in Paris and to connect with the leading modern artists of his time, Picassso and Braque.  He later became one of the most well known painters of abstraction.

Charles Biederman began as a painter of figurative works in Chicago. He studied in Paris and occasionally worked with abstract art. When he arrived in New York he became friends with Matisse and other leading figures of modern art in America.  Soon after coming to New York his career took off.


You could say that Beiderman was ahead of his time. Some of his work used techniques that were more prevalent in the 1970’s. An example of this is his work, Untitled Wall Construction. Biederman died in 2004.

You can find his work today in several galleries and museums.

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The Quiet Paintings of E.I. Couse

While looking through an exhibition catalog, I found the work of Eanger Irving Couse.  As I continue to to discover unfamiliar artist this year, I was pleased to find the article about E.I. Couse.    This American artist is known for his wonderful Indian portraits painted in Taos, New Mexico.

This Michigan artist lived from 1866 to 1936. His early work included landscapes. He was drawn to the art of the Southwest and visited Taos every year from 1902 until his death.  Unlike most painters of the Southwest who painted images of the action of Cowboys and Indians, Couse studied and painted mostly quiet and serene scenes.

You can find Couse’s art work today in many museums and institutions.  The Image I had the opportunity to view is Firelight, oil on canvas done in 1902.   This is a close-up portrait of two Native Americans in front of a fire smoking a pipe.

Eanger Irving Couse is my second artist I have discovered of the New Year enjoy the work of this artist. I will look forward to perhaps viewing more of his images in the future.

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