Paul Jenkins American 1923-2012 "Phenomena Prism in Sight" 1977 watercolor signed lower right. Provenance: Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer LTD., New York. Biography from Butler Institute of American Art The paintings of Paul Jenkins have come to represent the spirit, vitality, and invention of post World War II American abstraction. Employing an unorthodox approach to paint application, Jenkins' fame is as much identified with the process of controlled paint-pouring and canvas manipulation as with the gem-like veils of transparent and translucent color, which have characterized his work since the late 1950s. Born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1923, Jenkins was raised near Youngstown, Ohio. Drawn to New York, he became a student of Yasuo Kuniyoshi at the Art Students League and ultimately became associated with the Abstract Expressionists, inspired in part by the "cataclysmic challenge of Pollock and the total metaphysical consumption of Mark Tobey." An ongoing interest in Eastern religions and philosophy, the study of the I Ching, along with the writings of Carl Jung prompted Jenkins' turn toward inward reflection and mysticism which have dominated his aesthetic as well as his life. Source: Dr. Louis A. Zona, Director The Butler Institute of American Art Biography from Jerald Melberg Gallery A contemporary of American artists living in Paris in the 1950s, Paul Jenkins did work that represents the inventive spirit and energy of post-World War II abstraction. Greatly influenced by Jackson Pollack and Mark Rothko, Jenkins is famous for his inventive method of pouring paint directly onto the canvas, as well as for pure, prismatic color. He often uses an ivory knife or a brush for finishing, but never allows a stroke to show. The work of Paul Jenkins is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, among many others. 43 1/2"H x 30 1/2"W (sight), 46 3/4"H x 35"W (frame) (b Kansas City, Missouri, 1923) American painter. Under the G.I. Bill, Paul Jenkins attended the Art Students League in New York from 1948-52, during which time he studied with Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Morris Kantor. Jenkins' pictorial universe consists of streaks of color that awaken associations. He produced his first picture with diluted paints in 1951; later they were executed as pour pictures. The layers of pigment covering the picture supports are whisper-thin. Jenkins' handling is intuitive yet informed by philosophy. He is receptive to sources of inspiration provided by the manifold impressions he has of his immediate surroundings. His aesthetic experiments usually involve the prismatic colors of the rainbow. However, Jenkins also works up the impressions he has received on his extensive travels. In such cases, it is the distinctive color of a particular place that he finds most fascinating. (Credit: Ketterer, Munich, Post-War and Contemporary Art Collection: Foundation ?Kunst & Recht?, December 4, 2008, lot 606) This item cannot be shipped in house and requires local pickup or third party shipping. Please contact us for a list of preferred third party shippers.