작품 상세

THOMAS BROWNELL ELDRED (AMERICAN 1903-1993) Abstract Composition, 1938 oil on canvas 107.5 x 81.5 cm (42 1/4 x 32 1/8 in.) framed dimensions: 112.5 x 87 cm (44 3/8 x 34 1/4 in.) signed lower right PROVENANCE Estate of the Artist Private Collection, Pennsylvania LOT NOTES Thomas Brownell Eldred was an American painter, printmaker, and educator associated with the early development of American abstraction. Born in Clinton, Iowa, in 1902, Eldred studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Art Students League in New York, where he trained under influential modernists including Thomas Hart Benton, John Sloan, and Max Weber. His education continued at Atelier 17 in New York, the experimental printmaking studio founded by Stanley William Hayter, which became a nexus for international avant-garde artists in the 1930s and 1940s. Eldred’s early paintings, such as Abstract (1938), reveal his engagement with the formal language of European modernism, particularly Cubism, Surrealism, and Constructivism. In this work, overlapping planes of vivid color - purple, crimson, yellow, and black - create a dynamic interplay of biomorphic forms that hover between figuration and abstraction. The bold, flat shapes and rhythmic composition demonstrate his move away from representation toward a distinctly American synthesis of abstraction and design that anticipated the visual energy of postwar modernism. Throughout his career, Eldred exhibited in New York and across the Midwest, contributing to the growth of abstract and experimental art in America. He later joined the faculty of Brooklyn College, where he influenced a generation of artists in both painting and printmaking. His works are represented in public and private collections, including the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Eldred’s art stands as a testament to the pioneering spirit of American abstraction in the interwar period - an artist who bridged the early modernist experimentation of the 1930s with the bold innovation that would define American art in the decades to come. CONDITION Observed in frame, the work is in very good condition. Inspection under UV light reveals some limited retouching in the brown areas at the margins. N.B. Condition reports are available upon request. All lots are sold in as-is condition at the time of sale. Please note that any condition statement regarding works of art is given as a courtesy to our clients in order to assist them in assessing the condition. The report is a genuine opinion held by Shapiro Auctions and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report or a photograph does not preclude the absence of defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Shapiro Auctions, LLC., including its consultants and agents, shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Keywords: American art, Abstract Expressionism, Modernist Artist, oil painting, Abstraction and Modernism