Jonah Kinigstein | |
---|---|
Born | New York City, U.S. | June 26, 1923
Education | Cooper Union |
Known for | Painter, cartoonist |
Movement | Expressionism |
Spouse | Eileen Muken |
Children | 2 |
Jonah Kinigstein (born June 26, 1923) is an American artist known for his Expressionist paintings.
Kinigstein was born on June 26, 1923, in Brooklyn, New York City. [1] [2] [3] [4] His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland. [4] As a teenager, he would use chalk to make sidewalk art. [4] At times he worked with his father, a house painter. [4]
After high school, he attended Cooper Union. [4] [5] Before he graduated, he was drafted into the army during World War II, where he served in a photo topography unit. [4]
After being discharged from the army, he moved to Paris, where he attended the Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. [4] [5] He exhibited at the Galerie Huit. [6]
He later moved back to Manhattan. [4] The rise of abstract expressionism and the loss in popularity in figurative art prevent Kinigstein from being able to paint for a living. [4] He worked in commercial art, where he designed Bloomingdale's first collectible shopping bag in 1961. [4] He also began drawing political cartoons criticizing abstract expressionism and the figures in the art world promoting it. [4]
Kinigstein continued to paint for himself. He dubbed his style "figurative expressionism", and his painting frequently depict distorted figures in front of surreal backgrounds. [4] At age 99, he continues to paint for two or three hours a day in his home. [4]
Kinigstein's work is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, [7] the Smithsonian American Art Museum, [2] and the Whitney Museum of American Art. [8]
Kinigstein has been married twice and has two children. [4] His second wife is Eileen Muken. [4] He turned 100 in June 2023. [9]
He is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship as well as a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation award. [10]
In 2014, a book of his cartoons entitled The Emperor's New Clothes: The Tower of Babel in the "Art" World was published by Fantagraphics Underground. [4] [11]
In 2022, Unrepentant Artist: The Paintings of Jonah Kinigstein was published. [4] [12]
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