Biografie von Abraham WALKOWITZ (1878/80-1965)

Birth place: Tuiemen, Siberia, Russia

Death place: Brooklyn, NY

Addresses: Came to NYC in 1889, settling in NYC; Brooklyn, NY, 1929-65

Profession: Painter, graphic artist, illustrator educator, lecturer

Studied: Cooper Union; Educ. Alliance, NYC; NAD with War, Maynard, F.C. Jones, 1894, 1898; Acad. Julian, Paris, with J.P. Laurens, 1906.

Exhibited: Haas Gal., NYC, 1908 (first solo); Stieglitz Little Gal., 1912; Armory Show, 1913; Forum Exh., NYC, 1916; S. Indp. A., 1917-39; Salons of Am.; PAFA Ann., 1929, 1933-35; Corcoran Gal. biennials, 1930, 1935; Brooklyn Mus., 1939 (retrospective); AIC.

Member: Am. Artists Congress; Am. Soc. PS&G; Soc. Indep. Artists (dir.; vice-pres.); People's AG, 1915 (founding mem.)

Work: BM; MMA; AGAA; PMA; Hirshhorn Mus.; Kalamazoo IA; LOC; NYPL; WMAA; BMFA; Newark Mus.; Columbus Gal. FA; PMG; MoMA; Biro-Bidjan Mus., U.S.S.R; Univ. Gal., Univ. Minnesota, Minneapolis

Comments: Early American modernist artist. Walkowitz is best known for his numerous drawings of Isadora Duncan, whom he met at Rodin's Paris studio in 1906. Over the course of his career he made over 5000 drawings of Duncan in motion, often simply using gestural lines to suggest movement. Walkowitz returned to NYC from Paris in 1907. In 1909 he began making etchings and over the next decade produced numerous monotypes, often choosing the buildings of NYC and river views as his subject. He explored the NYC theme in charcoal drawings as well. He met Stieglitz about 1911 and thereafter became a fixture at the gallery, advising Stieglitz to show the art of children and encouraging him to give O'Keeffe a show in 1916. After 291" closed in 1917, Walkowitz's relationship with Stieglitz ended, and the artist's career suffered for lack of support. During the 1920s he painted realistic views and during the 1930s he addressed social themes. Auth.: "Isadora Duncan;" "From the Objective to the Non-Objective," 1945.

Sources: WW59; WW47; Baigell, Dictionary; A. Davidson, Early American Modernist Painting, 34-40; Abram Lerner and Bartlett Cowdrey, "A Tape-Recorded Interview with Abraham Walkowitz," Journal of the Archives of American Art vol. 9 (Jan. 1969); Falk, Exh. Record Series.