Original painting by Richard Merkin, The Escape of Tony Biddle (Mittel-Europe), dated 1982

Provenance: Marjorie Margolies Camino Real gallery in Boca Raton, then by descent, Roberta Franklin (sister), then by descent, Leslie Franklin (daughter), then sold to David Killen Gallery.

Frame: 49" x 36 3/4"
Painting: 47 1/2" x 35"

The Escape of Tony Biddle
(Source: Wiki) Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr. (1897-1961), also known as A. J. Drexel Biddle, Jr. or Tony Biddle, was a wealthy socialite who became a diplomat of the United States, and served in the United States Army during World War I and after World War II.

On May 4, 1937 he was promoted to Ambassador to Poland and presented his credentials in Warsaw, Poland on June 2, 1937. In September 1939 Germany invaded Poland. After Biddles house was hit with bomb fragments, his family and embassy staff fled to various temporary quarters. After the escape, he joined the Polish government in exile in France until June 1940, when he returned to the US after France was invaded. On February 11, 1941 he also commissioned to the governments-in-exile of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Yugoslavia. Biddle arrived in London on March 14, 1941, and continued as ambassador through 1943.

Richard Merkin
(Source: Wiki) Richard Marshall Merkin (1938 - September 5, 2009) was an American painter, illustrator and arts educator. Merkin's fascination with the 1920s and 1930s defined his art and shaped his identity as a professional dandy. Many of his works depict the interwar years, painting narrative scenes in bright colors of jazz musicians, film stars, writers, and sports heroes. Merkin was as well known for his outre sense of clothing style and collections of vintage pornography (in particular Tijuana bibles) as he was for his painting and illustration work.

Merkin was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1938, and held an undergraduate degree in fine art from Syracuse University in 1960, a Master's Degree in art from Michigan State University in 1961, and a master's degree in painting (MFA) from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1963. In 1962-63 he received a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship in Painting and, in 1975, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award from the National Institute of Arts and Letters.

Merkin began teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1963 and remained there for 42 years, during which time he built his reputation in New York. After he moved back to New York in 1967, he commuted every week to RISD to teach painting and drawing. At RISD, Merkin was loved and revered. One alum described him as fearless beyond measure. Some notable students Merkin taught at RISD include Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth of the band Talking Heads and Martin Mull.

Merkin on the cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Before Merkin was well known as an artist, his friend Peter Blake featured him on the cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). He appears in a party scene in the 1974 film The Great Gatsby.

Beginning in 1986, Merkin was a contributing editor for Vanity Fair. Starting in 1988, he was a regular contributor of illustrations to The New Yorker, as well as Harper's and The New York Times' Sunday magazine. From 1988-1991, he wrote a monthly style column called Merkin on Style for Gentlemen's Quarterly. Merkin also designed several album covers for the jazz record label Chiaroscuro Records for artists such as Mary Lou Williams, Ruby Braff, and Ellis Larkins.

Merkin died on September 5, 2009, at his home in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, after a long illness. He was 70 years old. He was survived by his wife Heather Merkin.

Merkin's career at The New Yorker spanned twenty years, three covers, and nearly three hundred illustrations. Merkin is represented in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Smithsonian Institution, Brooklyn Museum and the Whitney Museum, among others

Good condition overall