Description:

EthelSchwabacherAmerican(1903-1984)Ode #III, 1951oil on canvassigned and dated upper left.

Provenance: From a private collector, Indianapolis.
Provenance: Gallery Schlesinger-Boisante, Inc. New York, Exhibited 1987, "Ethel Schwabacher: Works From the Fifties", and 871 Fine Arts, San Francisco.

From the archives of AskArt: The following is submitted by Mrs. H.E. Schwabacher of New York City:

Ethel Schwabacher was born in New York in 1903. At the age of fifteen, she enrolled at the Art Students League and two years later studied sculpture at the National Academy of Design. After apprenticing with stone carvers and studying sculpture with Anna Hyatt Huntington in 1923, Schwabacher gave up sculpture for painting. In 1927, she enrolled in Max Weber's painting class at the Art Students League and that year met and began a long association with Arshile Gorky. (Schwabacher wrote the foreword to the 1951 Whitney Museum of American Art catalog, "Arshile Gorky, memorial Exhibition" and authored the 1957 monograph on the artist.)

While living in Europe from 1928 to 1934, she studied painting in France and Austria and underwent psychoanalysis, an experience that began her life-long interest in Freudian psychoanalysis. Through Arshile Gorky, with whom she studied from 1934 to 1936, Schwabacher was introduced to surrealist automatism, and consequently she combined clear references to nature with free-associational images drawn from her unconscious. Her variation of biomorphic abstraction, with its "fauve" colors and intensified contrasts, heralded her later styles.

In the 1950's, Schwabacher developed themes of childbirth, women, and children. her paintings also reinterpreted mythological subjects, emphasizing themes of separation, anxiety, loneliness and loss. While painful personal experiences (including the untimely death of her husband and the artist's depression and several suicide attempts) may inform her affinity for tragic subjects, she transcended her own experiences by selecting epic and heroic themes, such as those found in Greek tragedies.
24" H x 20" W (image), 26 1/4" H x 22" W (frame)

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Professional in house shipping services are available for items. Shipping costs will include carrier fees, handling, and insurance. Shipping costs are in addition to the auction purchase amount. A low bid purchase price does not mean shipping costs will be any less. The size and weight of a package will impact the cost that the carrier charges. Multiple items will impact the cost of handling. Items that are of high value will require more insurance. The minimum cost for shipping is $20.00. If you are not prepared to pay for our shipping, do not bid. Some items may require a third-party shipper. Please let the office know if you would like to pick up your winning bid or arrange your own shipping.
Successful bidders will receive a final invoice within 3-4 business days after the auction giving you payment and shipping details, if applicable, pertaining to the item(s) you have purchased. After the payment is made, your purchase will be shipped with in 10 business days and tracking will be sent by email. It is the buyers responsibility to confirm shipping and billing address provided on invoices.

October 9, 2021 11:00 AM EDT
Indianapolis, IN, US

Ripley Auctions

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $199 $20
$200 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $200
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 + $2,500