Attributed to Paul Forster (American, 1925-2012). "Plaza" oil on board, n.d. A beautiful painting by Paul Forster depicting a plaza cast in the warm yellows and oranges of sunlight, with a lone figure standing beneath the archway of a Spanish colonial building in the distance. Rendered in lofty, open strokes, the vibrancy of the palette is contrasted by the dark tones of the archway and the mysterious figure who looms over the scene. The linear planes of the architecture and town square are similarly complemented by the meandering limbs of the trees and round form of the passageway. Note how the path leads one's eye to the shadowy phantom, beckoning the viewer to follow the figure into the misty beyond. Forster's combination of these brilliant yet mystifying elements creates an overall stunning composition. Size: 35.75" W x 24" H (90.8 cm x 61 cm)

Though this painting is not signed, it has been attributed to Paul Forster by a prominent collector of his work due to its similarities in style, medium, size, and subject matter with his other pieces.

At the age eight, Paul Forster became the youngest member of the Albright Art Gallery Association in Buffalo, New York and started studying at the Museum School with watercolorist Robert Blair. During World War II, Forster served in the Army Air Corps, and in 1952, he graduated from Brigham Young University with a Fine Arts Degree. In the late 1950s, Forster had a studio in Nevada and painted murals for the Mormon Church. In the early 1960s, he taught art and became Chairman of the Art Department of the L.D.S. Schools of the South Pacific in Tonga. In 1969, he left Brigham Young University to pursue his art full time. For the greater part of the next decade, Forster traveled throughout the American Southwest in an Airstream trailer to paint the environment and its inhabitants. In time, he moved to Oregon followed by Kansas City, but eventually returned to Arizona.

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#175940

A few miniscule nicks to outer edges of board but painting is otherwise in excellent overall condition. Old collection labels on verso.