MID-CENTURY Painting ~ CUBAN ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST ~ 1955 Ghost RAUL MILIAN

This listing was posted on Americanlisted.

MID-CENTURY Painting ~ CUBAN ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONIST ~ 1955 Ghost RAUL MILIAN

Location:

Spring Hill, FL

Description:

A fine mid-century original watercolor and ink painting from Cuban abstract expressionist Raul Milián (1914-1984). It is signed in the lower right and dated 1955. The image measures 14 7/8 x 11 inches, with mat and frame full measurements are 21 x 17 inches. The artwork is in excellent condition, frame is somewhat grimy and abraded and the mat is dirty due to the unsealed back. The reverse of the work bears a Gimbel Collection (Bernard Gimbel) label as well as a couple of in house labels from Sotheby's auction. The piece is titled on the Gimbel label "Cabeza del Espectro" or Head of a Ghost in English.Raul Milián (1914-1984) was born in Havana, Cuba. It is said that he began painting in 1950, a decade in which he also worked decorating ceramic pieces, along with other artists such as Portocarrero, Lam and Amelia, in the Santiago de las Vegas Workshop led by Dr. Juan Miguel Rodríguez de la Cruz. His models seem to be the artists of formalism, of new figuration, of American Abstract Expressionism, the painting of Mark Tobey, Mark Rotho, the drawings of Wols and the work of previous artists such as Henri Michaux, Paul Klee and Jean Dubuffet.Almost all of his artistic work was done with black ink and colored inks on paper and cardboard of small dimensions, generally vertical, where he represented heads, faces, figures, flowers, vases, abstractions. His images express speculative, philosophical statements. He was part, albeit in a minor way, of the few painters who surrounded the Origins Group. A work by Milián was selected as the cover of issue 28 of 1951 of the magazine Orígenes.Unusual for the time and place Milian lived openly in a relationship with the artist Rene Portocarrero. He began experiencing psychological problems in the early 1980s and took his own life in 1984.Works by Milian can be found in the permanent collections of: the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana; Museo de Arte Moderno, Sao Paulo; Museo de Arte Moderno, Rio de Janeiro; Museo de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and many more.(biographical sources: Cernuda Arte & Pan American Art Projects)

Category:

Antiques

Color:

Black

Posted:

March 31 on Americanlisted