Medium: Oil on board
Artist: Norman Rubington (American, 1921–1991)
Dimensions: Approximately 24" x 18"
Signature: Unsigned
Condition: Good; wear consistent with age
Abstract Expressionist portrait on board. The composition is executed in heavy impasto, with thickly applied brushstrokes set against a black background. Unsigned. In good condition with wear consistent with age. Provenance: Private collection, Pennsylvania.
Norman Rubington (1921–1991) was an American painter, sculptor, printmaker, filmmaker, and author active during the mid-twentieth century. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he studied at the Yale University School of Fine Arts from 1939 to 1943 before serving in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. Following his service, he moved to Paris in 1946 to study at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Rubington was selected for the Salon d'Automne in 1948 and had his first solo exhibition at Galerie Huit in 1950. He exhibited alongside Bernard Buffet, André Minaux, and Roger Montane, as well as the American painters Sidney Geist and Jules Olitski. Under the master printer Roger Lacourière, he developed proficiency in aquatint and etching.
Rubington received numerous awards, including the Prix de Rome (1951–1954), the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship (1954–1955), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1958). He was a resident at the MacDowell Colony in 1970. His approach to painting was expressionist in tone, but grounded in representation. His subject matter was broad, and he frequently worked in series, revisiting related compositions frequently over time. Among his recurring subjects was humanity on the margins of society.
In addition to his painting career, Rubington was a Beat Generation writer under the nom de plume Akbar del Piombo, producing satirical works on social and political subjects. His style of animation served as a forerunner of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Museum Holdings:
Works by Norman Rubington are held in the permanent collections of several major institutions, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Grace Cathedral (San Francisco), the Obelisk Gallery (London), and the University of Mary Washington Galleries (Fredericksburg, Virginia). His papers and collages are housed in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.
Medium: Oil on board
Artist: Norman Rubington (American, 1921–1991)
Dimensions: Approximately 24" x 18"
Signature: Unsigned
Condition: Good; wear consistent with age
Abstract Expressionist portrait on board. The composition is executed in heavy impasto, with thickly applied brushstrokes set against a black background. Unsigned. In good condition with wear consistent with age. Provenance: Private collection, Pennsylvania.
Norman Rubington (1921–1991) was an American painter, sculptor, printmaker, filmmaker, and author active during the mid-twentieth century. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, he studied at the Yale University School of Fine Arts from 1939 to 1943 before serving in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. Following his service, he moved to Paris in 1946 to study at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.
Rubington was selected for the Salon d'Automne in 1948 and had his first solo exhibition at Galerie Huit in 1950. He exhibited alongside Bernard Buffet, André Minaux, and Roger Montane, as well as the American painters Sidney Geist and Jules Olitski. Under the master printer Roger Lacourière, he developed proficiency in aquatint and etching.
Rubington received numerous awards, including the Prix de Rome (1951–1954), the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Fellowship (1954–1955), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1958). He was a resident at the MacDowell Colony in 1970. His approach to painting was expressionist in tone, but grounded in representation. His subject matter was broad, and he frequently worked in series, revisiting related compositions frequently over time. Among his recurring subjects was humanity on the margins of society.
In addition to his painting career, Rubington was a Beat Generation writer under the nom de plume Akbar del Piombo, producing satirical works on social and political subjects. His style of animation served as a forerunner of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Museum Holdings:
Works by Norman Rubington are held in the permanent collections of several major institutions, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.), the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Grace Cathedral (San Francisco), the Obelisk Gallery (London), and the University of Mary Washington Galleries (Fredericksburg, Virginia). His papers and collages are housed in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.
