ARNOLD FRIEDMAN (1879-1946)
Three watercolors. Flushing Bay I * Flushing Bay II. Circa 1936 * Afternoon, New York. Circa 1938. Each 267x362 mm; 11¼x14¼ inches. Each dated and inscribed "Original watercolor by Arnold Friedman," by Elizabeth Friedman, the artist's daughter, in pencil, verso. Provenance: Artist's estate, New York.Friedman was born in Corona, Queens and worked at the post office while painting on the weekends and in the evenings. While maintaining his full-time job to support his family, he developed his art career, first taking classes at the Art Students League in 1905 under Robert Henri (1865-1929) and Kenneth Hayes Miller (1876-1952) and then, in 1909, taking a leave of absence from his job to go to Paris where he was introduced to Impressionism and burgeoning modern art movements such as Cubism. His style evolved throughout his career, but he maintained his focus on color and nature, paying tribute to Impressionism, particularly Camille Pissarro (1820-1903). He did not dedicate himself full-time to art until 1933 when he was 59 years old.