Winged Harlequin (Self Portrait)
1960's Gouache, Pastel & Ink

#C7885

Sydney Engelberg

This 1960's gouache, pastel and ink on paper board harlequin portrait is by Sydney Engelberg (1912-1997). Engelberg was a painter and illustrator who primarily worked within the American Scene tradition during the first half of the 20th century. He blended aspects of Regionalism, Social Realism, and occasionally Magic Realism to create uniquely American narratives. Active during the peak of American Scene painting, Engelberg was a contemporary—and at times a student—of the movement’s key artist, Thomas Hart Benton (1889–1975). Engelberg combined the more conservative Regionalism with elements of the left-leaning Social Realism, while also occasionally incorporating the surreal, dreamlike qualities of Magic Realism. Most of Engelberg’s work was created during his active service in WWII and through his illustrations for The New Yorker magazine, both before and after the war. However, like the mischievous harlequins that appear and disappear throughout his oeuvre, Engelberg hid a secret: he was a closeted gay man until he met his lifelong partner in the early 1950s. His hidden identity would influence how he experienced and depicted the "American Scene," both at home and at war. 

C. 1960's
Gouache, Pastel and Ink on Paper Board
20"x25" unframed, 30"x37" framed 

Excellent vintage condition. Estate stamped on the back. Framed floating in a 150 year old hand carved Dutch frame using silver archival matting and black archival spacers behind plexi glass.