Recent Paintings, Ary Stillman at Andre Seligmann Gallery
December 1-31, 1942
Excerpted from Reminiscences, by Frances Stillman, 1988
"...Ary's first exhibition after our marriage was in December 1942, at the Andre Seligmann Gallery, on 57th Street just off Fifth Avenue. Seligmann had seen one of Ary's paintings in a group show, and had asked Ary to join the group he was getting together. Others in the group were Jon Corbino, then at the height of his success, Frederick Taubes, Henry Botkin, Isabel Bishop, and others. It was a handsome gallery, and one of the nicest features about it was Seligmann's assistant, Faith Waterman, a beautiful, highly intelligent and overall lovely person, who has remained our close friend through all the years. Seligmann himself was suffering from a heart ailment and was a highly emotional individual, crushed by the German occupation of Paris, which had forced the to give up the wellknown Paris gallery father had founded. Ary was able to up and to lift him out of his despondency many times, but when the war ended Andre went back to Paris, and finding everything so changed, was more than ever despondent, and finally a heart attack caused his death. While it lasted a few short years, the Andre Seligmann Gallery had some outstanding group and one-man shows. Ary had a very good press from both his one-man show and various group shows..."
Press Clippings
"…Twenty-five compositions are on view, all of them reaching heights of technique he never touched before. For one thing, they’re infinitely more vigorous. The pigment is heavy, yet laid on with verve. Colors are clear and vibrant. Form emerges more solidly too. The fabric of Stillman’s pictures has become sensuously appealing. In the picture called "Thieves' Market" for instance, you get this richness of surface. In "Fruit Market" there is beautiful relationship between figures, architecture and atmosphere. "Out of Doors" is full of a luminous glow with bright flower foreground and deep perspective developed in perfect relation to each other."
The New York World Telegram
December 5, 1942
"…Read what you can from Ary Stillman’s treatment of crowds – as harmonious with their surroundings as the formless greeneries of his landscapes are integral parts of the woods they form. Be entranced by his presentation of Massan Street, financial district, which is not a J.P. Morgan view of stone vaults, but a romantic, mysterious bit of man-made elegance. Likewise his city squares, of which there are two, have all the élan of painting another generation ever had, plus the dignity of detachment from too immediate consideration of the scene."
Cue Magazine
December 12, 1942
Some Exhibited Artwork Titles:
Cottage in the Woods, World's Fair, NY'40, Indian Girl, Orizaba, Highway to Croton, Tarrytown, Thieves Market, El Baile, Countryside after Rain, Ossining, Shrine at Guadeloupe, Flower and Fish Market (Mexico), Kingston, Nassau Street, Flowers, Fruit Market (Mexico), Ravine, Still Life, Guanajuata, Out of Doors, Cottage in Croton, Cathedral Square, Mexico City, Zocalo, Interior, Peekskill.
1940,
oil on canvas,
20 x 24 in.,
[Foundation Collection]
1940,
oil on canvas,
23 x 29 1/2 in.,
[Permanent Collection]
1940,
oil on canvas,
29 x 39 in.,
[Private Collection]
1937,
oil on canvas,
30 1/4 x 24 1/4 in.,
[Private Collection]
