Expressive AbEx Oil< br>c. 1950s Oil

#C6520

Hubert Crehan

This large scale oil on canvas abstract expressionist painting is by Bay Area Abex/Figurative painter and critic Hubert Vincent Crehan (1917-1984). Crehan studied under Clyfford Still and Mark Rothko in San Francisco at the California School of Fine Arts (also known as SFAI) in the late 1940s. He was closely mentored by Still during those two years. Soon after graduating, he moved to New York and exhibited alongside Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Robert Motherwell at the now legendary 1954 Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture at the Stable Gallery. In the 1960s, his second career as an art critic reached its zenith as he interviewed and reviewed shows for Marcel Duchamp, Robert Rauschenberg, and Willem de Kooning, among many others. His friendship with Alice Neel resulted in a portrait she painted of him in 1961. Yet, in spite of all this, Hubert Crehan’s work has gone largely unseen for the past sixty years. At some point in the 1960s, his focus shifted to a more reliable career for a family man—reviewing art for the leading magazines of the day—and his canvases were rolled up and shipped back to family in California, not to be seen again until now. 

c. 1950s  
Oil on Stretched Canvas
57.5"x49.5" unframed 

Estate stamped on the back. Excellent vintage condition with a good deal of patina and ware. This piece was recently stretched on custom stretcher bars and sealed with layers of an archival matte varnish. Due the historic nature of the canvas and story, we chose to clean the piece and then preserve it in it's historic / unrestored state. Some paint loss, evidence of creasing and other minor ware. But overall, the piece is in good condition and the patina adds to its historic aesthetic.