John Urbain (Belgian-American, 1920-2009), Winter's Trees

Gouache on paper, 1960, signed and dated at lower right, framed below glass.

Sheet sight 29 3/4 x 19 1/2 in.; Frame dimensions 31 3/8 x 21 3/8 in.

From the Collection of Mr. Jonathan P. Alcott, Raleigh, North Carolina

Born in Brussels, John Urbain immigrated to Detroit, Michigan with his family at a young age. He attended the Cass Technical School and was drafted by the United States Army in 1941 where his skills were employed as an illustrator. Using the GI Bill, Urbain enrolled at Black Mountain College. During 1946 and 1947, Urbain studied under Josef Albers who greatly influenced his career. After leaving the college, Urbain was employed as art director for a New York advertising firm and became the assistant art director for Ladies Home Journal in Philadelphia. In 1950, Urbain spent two years in Paris studying at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the Académie Julian.

Upon Urbain's return to the United States in 1953, he became the art director for the Philip Morris Company. He was represented by several galleries in New York and in 1995, he was honored by a retrospective exhibition at the Hurlbutt Gallery in Greenwich, Connecticut. In 2013, the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center mounted a posthumous retrospective of his work. Urbain’s work is included in major American museums including the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art, among others. (Adapted from The Johnson Collection.)

This painting has been professionally mounted and retouched, retaining conservation label to the verso, small stain near sun area; not examined outside the frame.