'The Holy Grail' by Leo Kenney, 1947, Last Supper, Egyptian Iconography, Seattle Art Museum, Surreal

Description

Signed lower center, 'Leo Kenney' (American, 1925-2001) and dated 1947.

A seminal figure in the second generation of Northwest School … more Signed lower center, 'Leo Kenney' (American, 1925-2001) and dated 1947.

A seminal figure in the second generation of Northwest School artists, Leo Kenney was, like many of his contemporaries, largely self-taught. He was set apart from his peers, however, by his prodigious rise to notoriety with a solo exhibition at the age of nineteen -- far younger than even the most well-recognized artists of the period. By the following year, Kenney's work had been purchased for the permanent collection of the Seattle Art Museum, and was being exhibited at galleries and museums from Los Angeles to New York.

Kenney's work underwent several transformations throughout his career as he moved effortlessly between oil, ink and egg tempera, expressionism and surrealism and cubism. Today, the artist is best known for his abstract, geometric compositions expressing the philosophical and spiritual concerns of the Pacific Northwest. Over the course of a long artistic career, Leo Kenney exhibited worldwide with success and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards. He is listed in all relevant art-reference works including Who Was Who in American Art.

Reference:
Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 2, page 1824; et al less