Study for "Port Jefferson"

Artist Leonid Berman (American, born Russia, 1896 - 1976)

Date1949

MediumGraphite on paper

DimensionsUnframed: 11 13/16 × 17 13/16 inches (30.02 × 45.26 cm)

Credit LineGift of R. Kirk Askew Jr.

Object number50-5

Signedl.r.: Port-Jefferson (L-I) Leonid 49

On View

Not on view

Collections

American Art

Terms

Exhibition History

Gallery Label

Leonid Berman made these two drawings in preparation for his painting Port Jefferson. Berman’s talents as a careful draftsman are revealed by the cascade of legs in an annotated study. He repeatedly sketched the lower half of the foreground figure to confirm its correct position and perspective. His strong rendering ability is likewise demonstrated by the lyrical graphite drawing of the sweeping coastline of the Long Island harbor from which the painting takes its title. Berman merged the figure with the landscape study to arrive at the finished painting.

Provenance

Purchased from the artist by Durlacher Brothers, New York, stock no. 519, 1949;

Purchased from Durlacher Brothers by R. Kirk Askew, Jr. (1903-1974), 1949-1950 [1];

His gift to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1950.

NOTES:

[1] Getty Research Library, Los Angeles, Durlacher Brothers Records, Box 14, Ledger 1937-1966, page 31, copy in Nelson-Atkins curatorial files. R. Kirk Askew, Jr., was director of Durlacher Brothers.

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