The collection consists of fifty mixed-media paintings
which are satirical portraits of many famous artists of the twentieth century,
including painters, sculptors, writers, conductors and musicians, including Gertrude
Stein, Marc Chagall, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Jean Sibelius. The media are usually
a
combination of one or more of the following: tempera, watercolor, chalk, charcoal,
graphite pencil, and colored pencil.
Call Number:
Art Collection AR-00057
Language:
English
Access:
Open for research. A minimum of twenty-four hours is required to pull art materials
to the Reading Room.
Zdzisław Czermański (1896-1970) was born in Kraków, Poland
and went to France and Brazil before settling in the United States in 1943. He
is
known for his caricatures.
The Zdzisław Czermański Collection consists of fifty mixed-media
paintings by Czermański which are satirical portraits of many famous
artists of the twentieth century, including painters, sculptors, writers,
conductors, and musicians. Among the figures represented are Gertrude Stein, Marc
Chagall, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Jean Sibelius. A complete index of subjects is
included in this finding aid. The works all date from circa 1949 and are arranged
by
accession number.
The media used are usually a combination of one or more of the following: tempera,
watercolor, chalk, charcoal, graphite pencil, and colored pencil. Many pieces
are
bold in color although some are sketch-like and have very little color. Many of
the
pieces have notes written by Czermański in graphite pencil which were
erased, leaving the notes barely visible. Dimensions are 55 x 84.3 cm. and 80
x 58.5
cm. or smaller.
Three works from the Artine Artinian Art Collection are described and housed with
the
Zdzisław Czermański Collection: a portrait of Maurice de Vlaminck
riding a bicycle, with a caricature of André Malraux seated between the
legs of Charles de Gaulle on verso (70.67.21); a portrait of François
Mauriac wearing a monk's habit (70.67.31); and a portrait of Marcel Proust
(70.67.50).
