Rudy Turk (American, 1927-2007). "The Stanisha Family 1917" acrylic on canvas, 1993. Signed on lower right. A portrait of the Stanisha Family by Rudy Turk, delineated in Turk's signature vibrant color palette and bold style with loose brushstrokes and wonderful passages of impasto. The composition includes a matriarch at the center gently placing her hand on the shoulder of one of her daughters, a mustachioed patriarch on the right, and two more children, a boy and a toddler girl, on the left. All are finely dressed for the occasion - suits and ties, flowing dresses, a fancy bow adorning the central girl's blonde hair ... Turk has rendered their outfits in various shades of blue against a pink background, providing a striking contrast, and outlined their pink visages and facial features in blue as well, demonstrating his Fauvist leanings. Size: 30" L x 24" W (76.2 cm x 61 cm)

Interestingly, Turk has also 'framed' the family with a painted border of fuchsia and royal blue hues (though curiously the man at the right appears to project somewhat beyond this surround) prompting us to wonder if the artist is presenting us with the mirror image of this family, or perhaps a painting of another portrait.

Born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, Rudy H. Turk was an artist as well as a scholar and founding director of the Arizona State University Art Museum. His artistic inspirations included catacomb paintings, early Christian art, the French Fauves - most notably Georges Rouault, as well as the work of his friend Fritz Scholder.

Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010

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#173793

Signed by the artist at the lower right. Signature, title, and date on stretcher bar on verso. There is a very small (1/2 inch) tear on the pink background (to right proper of matriarch). Otherwise painting is in very good condition and fitted with suspension wire.