Wolf Kahn

Wolf Kahn was an internationally recognized colorist and landscape painter, and he is
widely considered one of the most significant representational artists in the United
States. For Kahn, the landscape was a format and formal device that allowed him
to push the boundaries of color theory. He reduced the details of a scene down to its
basic elements: the wide rectangle of the sky, the triangle of a pitched barn roof, the
horizontal band of light over a ridge, and most often the strong vertical lines of trees.
These simplified forms take on simultaneous abstract and representational qualities
as Kahn challenged the viewer to see the genre of landscape with fresh eyes. He distilled
the sense of a place down to its most memorable and unique qualities and allowed his
interpretation of those qualities to take on its own spontaneous and self-directed
expression as he painted. Looking at his paintings is like glancing up in a forest to catch
the sunlight beaming on golden leaves and illuminating brilliant colors you never
thought could exist in nature.
Kahn studied with abstract expressionist Hans Hofmann. He later attended the
University of Chicago to receive his Bachelor of Arts (1951). Kahn was the recipient of a
Fulbright Scholarship, a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, an Award in Art from the
American Academy of Arts and Letters, and a Medal of Arts from the State
Department. His work is in many public collections including the Whitney Museum of
American Art, Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of
Modern Art, all, New York; Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts; Cleveland
Museum of Art and Columbus Museum of Art, both, Ohio; Dallas Museum, Texas; The
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, California; and Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond, Virginia. Kahn
was a member of the National Academy of Design and the American Academy of Arts
and Letters. His work is widely exhibited and has been the subject of two monographs.

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Wolf Kahn, Foliage in an Orange Setting (New Jersey), Oil on canvas, Overall: 36 x 52in. (91.4 x 132.1cm),

Wolf Kahn, Trees Closing Off the Horizon, Oil on canvas, 36 x 52 in. (91.4 x 132.1 cm), Courtesy of the artist, Brattleboro, Vermont and New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Late Afternoon in Fall, Oil on canvas, 18 x 22 in. (45.7 x 55.9 cm), Courtesy of the artist, Brattleboro, Vermont and New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Overdose of Magenta, Oil on canvas, Overall: 23 x 37 x 1 1/2 in. (58.4 x 94 x 3.8 cm), Courtesy of the artist, New York, NY

Wolf Kahn, White Pond, Pastel, Overall: 17 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 1 in. (44.5 x 52.1 x 2.5 cm), Courtesy of the artist, New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Inlet IV, Pastel, framed: 30 1/4 x 37 3/4 x 1 1/2 in. (76.8 x 95.9 x 3.8 cm); image: 21 x 29 in. (53.3 x 73.7 cm) , Courtesy of the artist, New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Sunset Through a Fog Bank, Pastel, Overall: 17 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 1 in. (44.5 x 52.1 x 2.5 cm), Courtesy of the artist, New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Apple Orchard in Disuse, Oil on canvas, Overall: 23 1/4 x 37 1/4 x 1 1/2 in. (59.1 x 94.6 x 3.8cm), Courtesy of the artist, Brattleboro, Vermont and New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, At the Foot of Pleasant Valley Road, Oil on canvas, Overall: 29 1/4 x 35 1/4 x 1 1/2 in. (74.3 x 89.5 x 3.8 cm) Other: 28 x 34 in. (71.1 x 86.4 cm), Courtesy of the artist, Brattleboro, Vermont, and New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Farm Seen Through Thinning Woods, Oil on canvas, Overall: 39 1/8 x 54 1/8 x 1 1/2 in. (99.4 x 137.5 x 3.8 cm), Courtesy of the artist, Brattleboro, Vermont and New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, The Lamoille River at 10 Bends, Oil on canvas, Overall: 53 x 73 x 1 1/2 in. (134.6 x 185.4 x 3.8 cm), Courtesy of the artist, New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Yellow Orange in Background, Oil on canvas, Overall: 26 x 32in. (66 x 81.3cm), Courtesy of the artist, New York, New York, and Addison/Ripley Fine Art, Washington, D.C.

Wolf Kahn, The Best Fall Slope, Pastel on paper, Overall: 12 x 18in. (30.5 x 45.7cm), Courtesy of the artist, New York, New York, and Addison/Ripley Fine Art, Washington, D.C.

Wolf Kahn, Pond Up the Road, Oil on canvas, 22 x 28in. (55.9 x 71.1cm), Courtesy of Addison Ripley Fine Art, Washington, D.C.

Wolf Kahn, Slender Pine Trees, Oil on canvas, 60 x 52 in. (152.4 x 132.1 cm), Courtesy the artist and Beadleston Gallery, New York

Wolf Kahn, Glimpse at the Pond, Oil on canvas, 27 x 46in. (68.6 x 116.8cm), Courtesy of the artist and Addison/Ripley Fine Art, Washington, D.C.

Wolf Kahn, Green Wood, Oil on canvas, Overall: 29 x 31in. (73.7 x 78.7cm), Courtesy David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David Finn

Wolf Kahn, High Mowing at the Clark, Oil on canvas, Unframed: 22 x 28in. (55.9 x 71.1cm), Courtesy of the artist New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Memory of Italy, Oil on canvas, Overall: 14 x 20in. (35.6 x 50.8cm), Courtesy of David Winton Bell Gallery, Brown University; Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David Finn

Wolf Kahn, First Treeline Painting, Oil on canvas, 53 x 73 x 1 3/4in. (134.6 x 185.4 x 4.4cm) framed; 52 x 72 in. unframed, The artist, courtesy of Ameringer McEnery Yohe, New York

Wolf Kahn, White River, oil on canvas, Overall: 36 x 52in. (91.4 x 132.1cm), Courtesy of the artist, Brattleboro, Vermont and New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Barn in Winter, Oil on canvas, Framed: 36 x 52in. (91.4 x 132.1cm), Courtesy of the artist, Brattleboro, Vermont and New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, Black Near the Horizon, Oil on canvas, Overall: 28 × 22in. (71.1 × 55.9cm), Courtesy of the artist, Brattleboro, Vermont and New York, New York

Wolf Kahn, The Lamoile river at Ten Bends, 1990, Oil on Canvas, Overall: 52 × 72in. (132.1 × 182.9cm), Courtesy of the Artist and Miles McEnery Gallery

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Wolf Kahn

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