Esphyr Slobodkina
(1908-2002)
"Monochrome in Yellow," 1950
Oil on gessoed Masonite
Signed and dated lower right: Esphyr Slobodkina
14.5" H x 8" W
Provenance: Estate of the Artist
Property of the Slobodkina Foundation, acquired from the above

Exhibitions: "The Many Worlds of Esphyr Slobodkina," LewAllen Galleries, Santa Fe, NM, April 2 - May 15, 2021

Other Notes: Esphyr Slobodkina (1908-2002) was a Russian-Jewish-American artist who was one of the few women to gain public recognition within the field of modern American art during their lifetime. After immigrating to the United States in 1928, Slobodkina enrolled at the National Academy of Design in New York where she would later meet her first husband -- the painter Ilya Bolotowsky.

Slobodkina was known in the New York art world for a resolute sense of independence which she expressed by continually eschewing the prevailing artistic fashions and conventions of her day. In 1936, Slobodkina co-founded the American Abstract Artists, a group of professional artists who met and exhibited at galleries and museums in New York. As a founding member, Slobodkina had the opportunity to show her work in the group's inaugural exhibition held in New York City in 1937. Despite the small audience for abstract art at this time, many of the artists that Slobodkina showed her work alongside eventually became noted artists: the roster included Josef Albers, Ilya Bolotowsky, Byron Browne, Werner Drewes, Burgoyne Diller, Carl Holty, Ibram Lassaw, Alice Trumbull Mason, Mercedes Matter, George L.K. Morris, and Charles Green Shaw among many others.

"Monochrome in Yellow," which is being offered for sale on behalf of the Slobodkina Foundation, was painted in 1950. The work consists of a series of interlocking planes of color executed in a hard-edge style for which the artist is best known. While the 1940s were a period when Slobdkina's career took root, the 1950s provided Slobodkina with broader recognition as one of the nation's leading abstract artists of the day. She was included in the Whitney Museum's "Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting" - now known as the Whitney Biennial - in 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1958.

Slobodkina remained an active member of the American Abstract Artists for several decades. Her work, which was championed by Clement Greenberg early in his career, was featured in important exhibitions at A.E. Gallatin's Museum of Living Art in 1942, and at Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century gallery in 1943. Slobodkina was deeply involved in New York City's art scene, showing her work alongside Mark Rothko and Adolph Gottlieb while also entertaining Piet Mondrian at a dinner party in her apartment.

In addition to her career as an abstract painter, Slobodkina was a noted illustrator of children's books. A noted author, Margaret Wise Brown, who appreciated Slobodkina's artistic vision and visual directness, recruited her to create illustrations for the book "The Little Fireman." Slobodkina would continue to illustrate books for other writers until she started to write her own children's books such as "Caps for Sale," her best-known work which has sold over 2 million copies. In addition to her paintings and illustrations, Slobodkina is known for creating both sculptures and textile works.

The work of Esphyr Slobodkina has been exhibited alongside artists such as Rosalind Bengelsdorf, Benjamin Benno, Charles Biederman, Giorgio Cavallon, Manierre Dawson, John Ferren, Suzy Frelinghuysen, Albert (A.E.) Gallatin, Fritz Glarner, Arshille Gorky, John Graham, Balcomb Greene, Gertrude Greene, Hananiah Harari, Carl Holty, Harry Holtzman, Charles Howard, Frederick Kann, Michael Loew, Betty Parsons, Irene Rice Pereira, Ad Reinhardt, Leon Polk Smith, Louis Stone, Albert Swinden, Vaclav Vytlacil, Charmion von Wiegand, Jean Xceron, and Wilfrid Zofbaum among many others.

Visual: Overall good condition. Slight grime commensurate with age. A tiny, 0.125" hairline abrasion at lower center. Two very unobtrusive, pinhead-sized abrasions near the center of the extreme right edge and another of the same type at the upper edge. .

Blacklight: No evidence of restoration.

Framed: 15.5" H x 9" W x 1.5" D Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.