.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Guy-Patrice and Floriane Dauberville have confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Pierre Bonnard was a major inspiration for both Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason. For Kahn, his interest in Bonnard began during his time studying under Hans Hofmann in the late 1940s. Indeed, in his first major group show, curated by Clement Greenberg featuring 1947 Hofmann Provincetown students, Kahn’s work was a painting of a wicker armchair in the style of Bonnard. A 1948 Bonnard retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art further influenced Kahn toward European Expressionism over Abstract Expressionism, and he openly acknowledged the influence of the French artist’s approach to color and tapestry-like paintings, saying, “How could I make a secret of having been influenced by Bonnard? It’s clearly visible in the paintings—the paintings give the game away.” The same influence is also apparent in Mason’s work; for instance Karen Wilkins has recently compared Mason’s intriguing “constructions with color” with those of Bonnard as well as Claude Monet’s Japanese bridge paintings.
Pierre Bonnard was a major inspiration for both Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason. For Kahn, his interest in Bonnard began during his time studying under Hans Hofmann in the late 1940s. Indeed, in his first major group show, curated by Clement Greenberg featuring 1947 Hofmann Provincetown students, Kahn’s work was a painting of a wicker armchair in the style of Bonnard. A 1948 Bonnard retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art further influenced Kahn toward European Expressionism over Abstract Expressionism, and he openly acknowledged the influence of the French artist’s approach to color and tapestry-like paintings, saying, “How could I make a secret of having been influenced by Bonnard? It’s clearly visible in the paintings—the paintings give the game away.” The same influence is also apparent in Mason’s work; for instance Karen Wilkins has recently compared Mason’s intriguing “constructions with color” with those of Bonnard as well as Claude Monet’s Japanese bridge paintings.