GYORGY KEPES
(American, 1906-2001)
Far East - Monument
1950, oil and sand on canvas
signed and dated GK 50 upper left
72 x 36 in., frame: 72 3/4 x 37 in.
Provenance: The Estate of a Gloucester, Massachusetts Couple.

Exhibition: Busch-Reisinger Museum (Harvard Art Museum) Cambridge, MA loan label verso.

Other Notes: György Kepes explored the interconnectedness of art and science as a photographer, filmmaker, graphic designer, and painter. He embraced 20th century modernity and was influenced by the technological advances and turmoil in his society. He was a member of the European Bauhaus before emigrating from Hungary to the United States in 1937 to join the New Bauhaus in Chicago, upon the invitation of Laszlo Maholy–Nagy. At the New Bauhaus (later the School of Design), Kepes developed light and color workshops to research the psychological impact of color, technique, and forms. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the school offered a full program of “National Defense Courses” including a course designed by Kepes entitled “Principles of Camouflage.” In 1945, Kepes was invited to create a series of design courses in the School of Architecture and Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He subsequently founded and was the director of the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) at MIT, promoting art as a vital component of interdisciplinary study. Kepes ultimately spent the bulk of his career at MIT, working as a scholar and professor from 1946-1974. This collection of six important Kepes paintings come to auction from the estate of a notable Massachusetts architect, who was for many years a close friend of the artist.