Leon Kroll Original Graphite Portrait of a Young Man C.1940

Description

Leon Kroll Original Graphite Portrait of a Young Man c.1940

Outstanding portrait by listed American artist Leon Kroll

Graphite on … more Leon Kroll Original Graphite Portrait of a Young Man c.1940

Outstanding portrait by listed American artist Leon Kroll

Graphite on paper

Dimensions 12" wide x 18" high

The vintage frame measures 20" wide x 26.75" High

Pencil signed lower right

Very nice vintage condition

Kroll was born in New York City in 1884. He first studied at the Art Students League under John H. Twachtman, and in 1904 entered the National Academy School, winning the Academy's premier award in 1908.

He traveled to Paris in 1908, where he studied at the Academie Julian as a student of Jean-Paul Laurens, and exhibited at some of the major Paris exhibitions. While in Paris, he came under the influence of the Impressionists and was especially taken with the works of Paul Cezanne.

When Kroll returned from Europe in 1910, he mounted a one-man show of his Parisian work. The exhibition was a critical and financial success.

He became an instructor at the National Academy and also taught at the Maryland Institute (1919-23), the Art Institute of Chicago (1924-25), and The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1929-30).

Kroll began to paint views of New York in 1918, a subject that fascinated him for the rest of his life. George Bellows, who not only became a friend but also exerted a strong influence upon Kroll's work, was an admirer of his art.

During the 1930s, he worked for the WPA on murals for the Department of Justice Building.

Kroll maintained an apartment at 253 West Forty-second Street in Manhattan, from which he painted several views of New York scenes.

He died in New York City in 1974.

A fine opportunity! less