Esther Phillips Abstract Gouache Painting "Bldgs + Boats," Mid-20th Century
Item Details
Esther Phillips (Pittsburgh/New York, 1902 – 1983)
Bldgs + Boats, mid-20th century
Gouache painting on cardboard
Signed to verso
Title inscribed to verso
Provenance
From the collection of P.J. McArdle
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
- toning to cardboard; dust accretions to surface; foxing throughout; wear to edges; water damage to verso.
Dimensions
Item #
ITMG950709