Untitled, 1952-1956

Abstract oil painting from the early to mid-50s in the early abstract style of Harold Anchel. The picture is predominantly yellow and green. It is framed by the artist. This work was likely produced for a class at the Art Students League when Anchel was studying under Morris Kantor, indicated by a faint notation on the verso that appears to read "Kantor", which the artist's son confirmed was how he would label paintings shown in class at the League.

About the artist (From the artist's website): Born Anchel Harold Rosenberg on September 4th, 1912, Harold lived as a child on Third Street just east of Second Avenue on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. His parents were both Romanian. His father, Hyman Rosenberg, was from Bucharest and his mother, Rose, was from Dorohoi, just northeast of Bucharest near the Ukrainian border.

Harold was always interested in art, even as a child. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School and probably did well, as we know he earned a 100 on his Algebra Regents, but it is possible he left school in his senior year. At this point, Harold left the family home and moved in with a friend; In time he would return to the apartment on Third Street. From 1930-1932, he attended the National Academy of Design on 109th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.

After that, he performed in the New Dance Group for a while. "Established in 1932 by six young Jewish women on the Lower East Side of New York City. New Dance Group (NDG) trained leaders of the American dance through the twenty-first century. Founded with the desire to combine radical left-wing politics with modern dance, NDG proclaimed in its first anniversary bulletin in March, 1933: Dance is a Weapon of the Class Struggle."

The NDG performed at rallies and marched during protests. They performed with other groups led by Martha Graham, Mary Wigman, Edith Segal, Anna Sokolow, Hanya Holm, and Helen Tamiris. The performers followed theatrical scripts published in The Workers Theatre magazine and collaborated with the Musicians’ League. The inspiration for works began with dance improvisation based on social themes such as Strike (1932). It seems possible that these experiences set the stage for the subject matter of Harold’s later lithographs during the WPA period.

In 1937 Harold, then Harold Anchel Rosenberg, applied to the WPA. In order to apply he said he had to change his name as only 2 family members were allowed to be in the WPA. He dropped his last name and flipped the order of the other two, becoming Harold Anchel. His first job in the WPA was counting chickens, but he was soon accepted into the arts project because of his interest in art and dance. He learned how to make lithographs and soon became the youngest member of the lithography project.

He produced well over 25 lithographs for the project. The Metropolitan Museum of Art now owns 17 of them. His subject matter included portraits (often of family members or friends) and city scenes. He portrayed outdoor scenes in parks and recreation areas and indoor scenes in restaurants, theaters, and in the subway. His style was Social Realism and perhaps his experience in the progressive dance group performing in works like Hunger, Strike and On the Barricade, enhanced this view of life.

In 1943, Harold was drafted. He entered the army and was an artist in residence. He first was assigned to paint insignias on planes and buildings. He soon was re-assigned to the Camouflage Battalion unit in Walterboro, South Carolina, where he designed, built, and clothed, puppets that were then used to teach camouflage techniques to visiting troops who were going overseas.

When he left the army after the war, he entered the Arts Students League under the GI bill while working at Sachs Furniture as a window dresser and later as a textile designer and draftsman for an architectural firm. While at the League, Harold primarily studied with George Grosz, Morris Kantor and Vaclav Vytlacil as well as taking classes with Julian Levi, Will Barnet, Charles Alston, and Harry Sternberg. Harold as a result of his teachers and the evolving art style in New York went from being a realist to an abstract expressionist.

During the 50's Harold often visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Moma and the Whitney as well as attending new shows at the 57th street galleries like Sidney Janis and Martha Jackson. These visits informed the development of his style. Early on he had been very impressed by exhibits of the works of Arshile Gorky, who appeared in group and solo shows at all of the above mentioned venues during the late 40s and early 50s.

The end of the 50's was a very productive period. Harold exhibited in 7 shows in both New York, and in Miami at The Miami Museum of Modern Art. He was chosen for the 26th Biennial Exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C.(details) (The picture exhibited is to the left.) The New York School of Abstract Expressionism was in full bloom and he could count himself as part of it. He received good reviews from the New York Times for a four man show in The Avant Garde Galleries in 1958 (details) He was now sharing a studio with three other artists and painting full time.

In the 60's Harold began to lighten his style leading to even more abstraction, and by the end of the 60's he began to work in a more geometric style but still with great subtlety of color. His acquaintance, Al Held, had moved in a similar direction as well. Harold painted through most of the '70s. He would go to his studio on 22nd street between Broadway and Park, every day, but his output decreased as his health declined.

For more information, visit: https://david-anchel.format.com/biography