This is an expressive and wonderful Vintage Mid Century Modern Cubist Abstract ANGELS Oil and Enamel Painting on Paper, laid and mounted on Masonite board, by the talented Mid Century California Modernist painter, Gerda Becker With 1910 - 1995. This artwork depicts a young Jesus, flanked by two beautiful angels. The Christ child has a wide halo, with gold leaf applique, and stares stoically outward in the viewer's direction.
The angels can be seen kneeling in his presence, with soft and lovely facial features. The overall painting is rendered in an expressive and abstracted manner, reminiscent of a black & white Rorschach test. Signed and dated: "GB With'60, " in the lower right corner. Additionally, an old exhibition label on the verso reads: Two Angels and Christ Child. Oil and Enamel on Paper.Approximately 31 7/8 x 42 inches including Masonite backing board. Actual artwork is approximately 26 1/2 x 40 1/4 inches. Good overall condition for age and storage, with some mild speckles of soiling along the edges of the painting, and light scuffing and mild edge wear to the original Masonite backing board please see photos carefully.
Acquired from an old collection in Los Angeles, California. If you like what you see, I encourage you to make an Offer.
Please check out my other listings for more wonderful and unique artworks! Gerda With (20th century) is known for Painting.Born in Hamburg, Germany on March 4, 1910, she came from several generations of artists originating in Belgium in the 17th century. A professional artist herself, she studied in Berlin at the Charlottenburg School of Art. She gained early success as a portraitist and worked as an illustrator for several years with the world famous "Ullstein" publishing house. Her inner conflict with the Nazi regime compelled her to forego her highly rewarding career and exile herself voluntarily.
In 1939 she arrived in New York City. Shortly thereafter she married Dr. Karl With, well-known art historian, author and museum director from Cologne, Germany. In 1945 she became an American citizen.The couple settled in Los Angeles in 1948. Gerda With developed a unique painterly style, which mixed elements of abstraction with recognizable forms. Equally unusual was her technique, which combined oil, enamel, gold leaf and gold powder on masonite or formica. She used black enamel ground instead of the usual white gesso as the starting point of her paintings. Her subject matter ranged from portraits to biblical scenes and landscapes.
But, above all, her creations were infused with a love, a delight, and wonderment at the beauty and manifold manifestations of the natural world. "In my paintings, " she wrote, I try to paint the essence of things, my own vision and imagery, a transformation interwoven like a tapestry of dream and reality. Besides various one person shows and numerous awards and prizes, her paintings are found in many public and private collections here and abroad. "The Art of Gerda With". These émigrés included Leger, Chagall, Mondrian, Kandinsky, and Dali.They became the catalyst for the modern art movement that exploded in New York City after WWII and altered the course of art history. Gerda's daughter, Nela Dwyer, a resident of Lake Wildwood, inherited her mother's art collection and will display pieces of her work at this meeting. Nela will explain the techniques used by Gerda. All Lake Wildwood residents are invited to attend.
Book of 16 chalk drawings by Gerda With. The drawings were illustrations of her husband's poems. With, Gerda Becker (91) Born in Hamburg, Germany on March 4, 1910, she came from several generations of artists originating in Belgium in the 17th century. The couple settled in Los Angeles in 1948 where they remained the rest of their lives; Karl With died in 1980.She is survived by a son, Christopher, his wife, Beverly, and by a daughter, Nela Dwyer, and husband Bill, and two granddaughters, Holly and Heather.