ARTIST: Larissa Geiss Osby (Pennsylvania, Germany, 1928 - 2017)
TITLE: Variation on a Theme 4 (titled on verso)
MEDIUM: mixed media on board
CONDITION: Very good. Framed under glass. Wear to frame.
ART SIZE: 18 x 12 inches / 45 x 30 cm
FRAME SIZE: 27 x 20 inches / 68 x 50 cm
SIGNATURE: lower right
ATTENTION: This lot is located at our Mamaroneck, NY office.
CATEGORY: old antique vintage painting for auction sale online
AD: ART WANTED: Consign, Trade In, Cash Offer
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SKU#: 132125
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BIOGRAPHY:
Born June 7, 1928 in Artemowsk, Ukraine, Larissa Geiss Osby escaped Stalinist Russia alone at the age of 15 and fled to Germany. She graduated from the University of Gottingen and was eventually reunited with her parents. She had to interrupt her work on a PhD in Philology in Munich when her application to immigrate to the US was accepted. The voyage to her new life was treacherous, and the ship developed a large crack while en route. Larissa's knowledge of five languages made her a valuable asset to the ship's staff, as she was asked to translate their announcements over the loudspeakers into the various languages of the passengers each day. Upon arriving in the US, she began work in the medical labs of the University of Pittsburgh, using her lifelong interest in drawing and painting to create medical sketches of the day's work. One day, while preparing for an art exhibition, Larissa met her future husband, Howard Osby, when he viewed an available apartment where the landlord was allowing her to store her paintings. Known for her large abstract oil paintings and collages, Larissa was a leader in the Pittsburgh art community. Over the decades, her works were purchased by many of Pittsburgh's largest corporations, private collectors, and the Carnegie Museum of Art. She exhibited throughout the US and abroad, including annual shows with the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, the Carnegie International, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, and in more than a dozen one-man shows. The themes of many of her paintings were inspired by her love of nature and natural beauty and were fed by her vacations with Howard to the country's national parks, mountain ranges, and coastlines. In 1983, Larissa was honored as Pittsburgh's Artist of the Year. In the 1980s and 90s, Larissa was an adjunct painting teacher at Pittsburgh's High School for the Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA), taking a personal interest in her students and helping them develop talents that would lead them to acceptance by some of the top art institutions in the country. Larissa was an avid collector and refinisher of primitive antiques, an incredible cook who always had plenty of room at her table, and a maker of custom jewelry. She changed the lives in large and small ways of everyone she met and passionately shared her vibrant love of life and her knowledge of art, language, and world history with everyone. In 1991, Larissa returned to the Soviet Union for a visit and was caught up in the coup attempt against then-President Gorbachev. Because she spoke English, she posed as an American reporter to gain access to soldiers and hear their stories firsthand. An article about her trip was featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette upon her return. Larissa will be missed by family, friends, and the wonderful people who cared for her at St. Barnabas, but she has left a lasting impression with everyone she touched.