**This is an oversized piece that may require special shipping. Please inquire for a quote prior to bidding.

Morris Kantor (Russian-American, 1896-1974). "Image on Red Ground" oil on canvas, 1969. Signed "M. Kantor" at lower left and on verso. A dramatic painting by Morris Kantor, "Image on Red Ground" features a central arrangement of biomorphic forms delineated in bold yellow, spring green, peach, lavender, deep grey and violet - all against a vermilion red-orange ground. Kantor was a fascinating artist, because he created both representational still lifes and landscapes as well as abstraction compositions like this example. A wonderful example of Kantor's oeuvre set in a custom black frame. Size: 53" L x 42" W (134.6 cm x 106.7 cm) Size of frame: 54.625" L x 43.625" W (138.7 cm x 110.8 cm)

Born in Minsk, Russia (now Belarus) Morris Kantor immigrated to the United States in 1906 when he was just a child. There is some debate as to whether he was with family or alone, but we know that he was very young, lived in New York City, and earned enough money working in the Garment District to enroll in art school by age 20. Kantor began attending the Independent School of Art in New York in 1916 and went on to teach at Cooper Union during the 1940s and the Art Students League from 1936 to 1972. Many of his students - including Robert Rauschenberg, Knox Martin, Susan Weil, and Sigmund Abeles - became quite famous in their own right.

Kantor maintained a studio in Manhattan, close to Union Square, as well as on Cape Cod in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. During the 1920s, he also worked in Paris. His arts circle included notable modernists such as the sculptor Isamu Noguchi. During the 1930s, Kantor supervised a Federal Arts Project Easel Painting Project in Rockland County, New York. The following decade he spent some summers in Monhegan, Maine, and in the 1960s his work was shown at Bertha Schaefer Gallery in New York City. Kantor's work has also been exhibited at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other prestigious institutions. His honors include receiving the Logan Medal of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Temple Medal of the University of Illinois. Kantor's oeuvre was vast and impressive, as he explored numerous styles ranging from realism colored by a hint of Surrealism to abstract movements including Cubism and Futurism.

This painting was exhibited at the Bertha Schaefer; note the gallery label attached to one of the stretcher bars. According to the Archives of American Art, "Bertha Schaefer (1895-1971) was an interior designer and director of the Bertha Schaefer Gallery in New York, New York. Schaefer was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi to Emil and Julia (Marx) Schaefer. She received her B.A. on June 1, 1914 from Mississippi State College for Women, and received a diploma for interior decorating from the Parsons School of Design in New York City. In 1924, after living in Paris for 5 months, she opened Bertha Schaefer Interiors in New York. In 1944, she opened the Bertha Schaefer Gallery of Contemporary Art, which featured American and European paintings and sculpture."

Provenance: Private M. C. collection, Irvine, California, USA; Ex-Morris Kantor collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#168233

Painting is in overall very nice condition save a few minute scuffs as shown. It is signed "M. Kantor" on the verso. There is also a Bertha Schaefer Gallery label attached to the central stretcher bar on the verso. Finally, the frame shows slight age wear and is missing its gold covering on one side as shown.