Jan Matulka
American, 1880 - 1972
Jan Matulka studied art briefly in Prague before immigrating to the U.S. in 1907. He continued with his academics at the National Academy of Design from 1911-16 and later at ASL. In 1917, Matulka was the first ever recipient of the Joseph Pulitzer traveling scholarship which he used to visit and study in Paris. After his trip his work showed more abstraction from his exposure to Cubism. This stylistic change remained with him throughout his career. Matulka held his first one man show in 1925.
In the 1930s, Matulka painted murals for the WPA. "Still Life Composition" (1934) was painted at the National Museum of American Art and is quite evocative of the artist's private symbolism. Matulka was also a very influential professor at the ASL from 1929 to 1931. He exposed students to new and emerging styles that were rarely approached in traditional academic art courses. He died in 1972.
Biography courtesy of The Caldwell Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/caldwell
In the 1930s, Matulka painted murals for the WPA. "Still Life Composition" (1934) was painted at the National Museum of American Art and is quite evocative of the artist's private symbolism. Matulka was also a very influential professor at the ASL from 1929 to 1931. He exposed students to new and emerging styles that were rarely approached in traditional academic art courses. He died in 1972.
Biography courtesy of The Caldwell Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/caldwell
Jan Matulka's paintings - ranging from the traditional to the abstract - are a measure of the dynamism of American art during the 1920s and the 1930s. Additionally, through his teaching, Matulka was able to interpret this artistic evolution for many of the aspiring artists of the time.
Born in 1890 in Bohemia, Matulka studied art for two years in Prague before coming to the United States with his family in 1907. Shortly after settling in the Bronx, Matulka's parents separated, leaving the young artist and his siblings to be raised by their mother. The family faced financial difficulties. Matulka attended the National Academy of Design from 1908 to 1917. There he became the first recipient of the Joseph Pulitzer traveling scholarship. This award gave Matulka his first financial independence and enabled him to travel to the Southwest and to Florida.
When he returned to New York City a year later, Matulka's paintings showed a marked change. As seen in his Indian Dancers (1917 to 1918, The Anschutz Collection, Denver) a more abstract style had replaced his earlier realism. Still more artistic change would come for Matulka after his first trip to Paris in 1919. Exposure to cubism would directly affect his work at the time, and the cubist influence can be felt in virtually all of Matulka's subsequent works.
Matulka had his first one-man exhibit in New York City in 1925. His paintings included early watercolors (Matulka almost never dated his works) and cubist-inspired cityscape lithographs. During this period, Matulka became interested in politics, and began doing illustrations for New Masses, a magazine oriented to the communist experiment. These drawings, often focusing on the plight of the working class, expressed the satiric side of the artist's personality.
From 1929 to 1931, Matulka was an instructor at the Art Students League. His teachings about abstract art and newly emergent artistic styles inspired a nucleus of later-popular artists, including David Smith, Dorothy Dehner, George McNeil and I. Rice Pereira. In the late 1930s, Matulka painted abstract murals for the WPA Federal Art Project. As exemplified by his Still Life Composition (c. 1934, National Museum of American Art), his paintings during that decade were often still lifes of enigmatically linked objects, seemingly evocative of the artist's private symbolism.
He continued to paint until his death in New York City in 1972. Excerpts taken from 300 Years of American Art, Michael David Zellman, The Wellfleet Press, New Jersey, 1987.
Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton
Born in 1890 in Bohemia, Matulka studied art for two years in Prague before coming to the United States with his family in 1907. Shortly after settling in the Bronx, Matulka's parents separated, leaving the young artist and his siblings to be raised by their mother. The family faced financial difficulties. Matulka attended the National Academy of Design from 1908 to 1917. There he became the first recipient of the Joseph Pulitzer traveling scholarship. This award gave Matulka his first financial independence and enabled him to travel to the Southwest and to Florida.
When he returned to New York City a year later, Matulka's paintings showed a marked change. As seen in his Indian Dancers (1917 to 1918, The Anschutz Collection, Denver) a more abstract style had replaced his earlier realism. Still more artistic change would come for Matulka after his first trip to Paris in 1919. Exposure to cubism would directly affect his work at the time, and the cubist influence can be felt in virtually all of Matulka's subsequent works.
Matulka had his first one-man exhibit in New York City in 1925. His paintings included early watercolors (Matulka almost never dated his works) and cubist-inspired cityscape lithographs. During this period, Matulka became interested in politics, and began doing illustrations for New Masses, a magazine oriented to the communist experiment. These drawings, often focusing on the plight of the working class, expressed the satiric side of the artist's personality.
From 1929 to 1931, Matulka was an instructor at the Art Students League. His teachings about abstract art and newly emergent artistic styles inspired a nucleus of later-popular artists, including David Smith, Dorothy Dehner, George McNeil and I. Rice Pereira. In the late 1930s, Matulka painted abstract murals for the WPA Federal Art Project. As exemplified by his Still Life Composition (c. 1934, National Museum of American Art), his paintings during that decade were often still lifes of enigmatically linked objects, seemingly evocative of the artist's private symbolism.
He continued to paint until his death in New York City in 1972. Excerpts taken from 300 Years of American Art, Michael David Zellman, The Wellfleet Press, New Jersey, 1987.
Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton
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