Vintage Framed Bronze Sculpture Etching by Chris Ritter

This is a signed etching by Chris Ritter of a Roman Bronze sculpture. It is in a vintage frame and has been newly matted in a pale blue color to complement the tones of the artwork and frame.

13.5" x 17"

Chris Ritter graduated with a B.A. from the University of Kansas at Lawrence where he was a pupil of Albert Bloch and Karl Mattern. He continued his studies at the Art Students’ League in New York from 1933-36 with Richard Lahey and George Grosz. Ritter also studied at Columbia University and at the Brooklyn Museum School of Art. During World War II, he was an illustrator for the Air Force while serving in the army. He was an important figure in the New York Postwar Avant-Garde scene and opened the Laurel Gallery in New York. He has published a series of print portfolios, beginning with one of five etchings by Milton Avery.

In 1947, he offered a show of paintings to Grace Borgenicht, who later became the gallery co-director. Ritter's work and his gallery explored the Surrealist sensibility transplanted from Europe and given new life as it came into contact with popular culture in the United States. He and his wife Jane retired to Ogunquit, Maine. Ritter was a member of the Ogunquit Art Association and served as president from 1957 to 1961. Chris Ritter passed away on August 8th, 1976 in Ogunquit, Maine.

Chris Ritter's work is represented in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, the Worcester Art Museum, the Brooklyn Art Museum, the British Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the NY Public Library, and the Library of Congress. He also exhibited at the Chicago Art Institute. During his life, he was listed in Who's Who in American Art; after his death, he is listed in Who Was Who in American Art. Ritter is a minor but still important figure whom we think ripe for rediscovery. (source: Spaightwood Galleries)