Max Karp Enameled Painting, Young Boy in Golden Field #1

Max Karp Art Painting, "Young Boy in Golden Field". Dimension: H- 4" x W-5".

Max Karp was born September 14, 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio and died on January 19,1999 in Thousand Oaks, California. American Artist Max Karp is one of the few contemporary painters to use enamel for his artistic work. He is recognized as a chief exponent of modern enameling, creating kiln-fired collectibles. A self-taught artist, Karp was born in Ohio in 1916 and raised in California.

He lived in Southern California and began painting by recording in his oils various species of birds and insects for his father who was an ornithologist/entomologist. In the mid-1960's, Karp became interested in the enamel process.

Beginning on a small scale, he taught himself the enamel technique and later experimented with the large paintings in enamel for which he is best known. In 1970 Hamilton Mint commissioned Karp to produce four paintings of the seasons of the year, which were then issued as a limited edition of plates on precious metal. In 1980 Karp's 20 x 24-inch enamel portrait of Beverly Sills was presented to the Sills following her final performance as a full-length opera singer. In addition, numerous private art collectors, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Happy Rockefeller and Sarah Churchill, have acquired works by Max Karp for their collections.