Esther Phillips Abstract Gouache Painting of Industrial Harbor Scene

Item Details

Esther Phillips (Pittsburgh/New York, 1902 – 1983)
Untitled (harbor)
Gouache painting on paperboard
Signed to lower right

Esther Phillips left Pittsburgh in the late 1930s to pursue a bohemian lifestyle in Greenwich Village. A member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, she immersed herself into local artistic circles, and among her artist friends were modernists Milton Weiss (American; 1912-1995) and Franz Kline (American; 1910-1962). Phillips’ work was often executed in watercolors at a quick pace, exhibiting the influence of Fauvism, Cubism, and artists such as Stuart Davis, Arthur Dove, and Georgia O’Keeffe. Frequent subjects include abstracted cityscapes, townscapes, and asylum scenes that feature vibrant colors, simple shapes, and overall flatness. Her work has been exhibited posthumously at multiple galleries such as the Carson Street Gallery, the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, and the Borelli-Edwards Gallery, among others.

Condition

- pigment loss to the edges of paperboard; surface abrasions and stray marks to the painting surface; yellowing and discoloration painting surface; slight warping to paperboard.

Dimensions

- measures the frame; sight measures 12.25" W x 5.5" H.

Item #

ITMG881396