Artist: Ben Solowey (American, born Poland, 1900–1978)
Title: Modernist Portrait Bust of a Woman
Period: Mid-20th century
Origin: United States
Medium: Painted plaster with carved wood base
Dimensions: Bust: 8.75" H x 6.25" W; with base: 9" H x 7.5" W
Signature: Signed on the underside of the base
Condition: Good; surface wear and patina consistent with age
Provenance: Private collection
Description:
A modernist painted plaster portrait bust of a woman by Ben Solowey (1900–1978), mounted on an oblong carved wood base. The surface exhibits a mottled dark greyish-green coloration with subtle dark pink undertones. Signed on the underside of the base.
Artist Biography:
Ben Solowey was born in Warsaw, Poland. In 1907, the family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia.. By 1914, the family immigrated to Philadelphia, where Solowey, then fourteen, began his formal art training at the Graphic Sketch Club and the Spring Garden Institute.
In 1919, Solowey was awarded a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he studied under Hugh H. Breckenridge and Daniel Garber.
Solowey moved to New York in 1928, where he was commissioned by The New York Times and the Herald Tribune to produce charcoal portraits of Broadway and Hollywood celebrities. His subjects included Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich, and Ethel Barrymore. His nearly nine hundred theatrical portraits played a significant role in introducing halftone reproduction to newspaper illustration. During this period, his paintings were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Academy of Design.
Solowey's awards include the Dawson Memorial Medal and the Ramborger Prize, and he received a gold medal at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1954. His works are held in institutional collections including the Delaware Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Bucks County Museum.
Artist: Ben Solowey (American, born Poland, 1900–1978)
Title: Modernist Portrait Bust of a Woman
Period: Mid-20th century
Origin: United States
Medium: Painted plaster with carved wood base
Dimensions: Bust: 8.75" H x 6.25" W; with base: 9" H x 7.5" W
Signature: Signed on the underside of the base
Condition: Good; surface wear and patina consistent with age
Provenance: Private collection
Description:
A modernist painted plaster portrait bust of a woman by Ben Solowey (1900–1978), mounted on an oblong carved wood base. The surface exhibits a mottled dark greyish-green coloration with subtle dark pink undertones. Signed on the underside of the base.
Artist Biography:
Ben Solowey was born in Warsaw, Poland. In 1907, the family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia.. By 1914, the family immigrated to Philadelphia, where Solowey, then fourteen, began his formal art training at the Graphic Sketch Club and the Spring Garden Institute.
In 1919, Solowey was awarded a scholarship to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he studied under Hugh H. Breckenridge and Daniel Garber.
Solowey moved to New York in 1928, where he was commissioned by The New York Times and the Herald Tribune to produce charcoal portraits of Broadway and Hollywood celebrities. His subjects included Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich, and Ethel Barrymore. His nearly nine hundred theatrical portraits played a significant role in introducing halftone reproduction to newspaper illustration. During this period, his paintings were exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Academy of Design.
Solowey's awards include the Dawson Memorial Medal and the Ramborger Prize, and he received a gold medal at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1954. His works are held in institutional collections including the Delaware Art Museum, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Bucks County Museum.
