We Purchased a 1973 Harold Krisel Original - the Artwork Arrived Damaged

My first thought was, "Well, what a depressing beginning to our weekend."

I paused, looked at the beat-up shipping case, opened it, photographed the damage, and silently cursed UPS. That didn't accomplish much. I thought again, and realized that the shipping misfortune was an opportunity to share Harold Krisel with you.

Jacob and I have—after discovering an intuitively handsome, wonderfully executed body of work—fallen in love with the work of artist, Harold Krisel.

             Untitled, Harold Krisel - McCormick Gallery, Chicago

While the name Harold Krisel is not bantered about like the names of other American-modern, abstract artists; Jacob and I believe that will change over the next decade or so. Krisel's work has a direct, strong, empirical voice that seems to speak louder with the passing of time. Learn more:

Krisel (1920 - 1995) is represented in the collections of numerous museums including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, The Guggenheim Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Houston Museum of Art, British Museum in England, Bibliotheque National in Paris, Philadelphia Museum of Art. Krisel also completed numerous public commissions and installations, including a nationally recognized mural for the Greenville / Spartanburg Airport in South Carolina.

               Dark and Light Forms, Harold Krisel 1962 

Harold Krisel was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1920. He studied architecture at the New Bauhaus from 1946-1949 on the G.I. Bill after his discharge from the Army. Twenty-six at the time, Krisel had been interested in art since the 1930s when he arrived in New York—with Carl Holty and Harry Holtzman. He became a member of American Abstract Artists in 1946, and retained that membership for life.

Krisel completed his graduate studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1952.

He worked as an architect at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill until 1966, when he joined the faculty of the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan where he taught architecture until his retirement in 1981.

In 1955 Harold Krisel met his primary patron, Roger Milliken, of Milliken and Company. Krisel was commissioned to design a 26,000 square foot aeration pond for Milliken's headquarters.

Once he retired, Krisel—in his studio in Bridgehampton, New York—pursued his life-long dream of dedicating himself full time to his vision of art and graphics. In Bridgehampton he began by designing his own house and studio. There he befriended artists Ibram lassaw and Perle Fine and he showed at the storied Elaine Benson Gallery.

Harold Krisel died in 1995 of Alzheimer's disease.

On the damage front, we have a received a different piece and when our latest acquisition is properly framed and on the wall, I'll share it with you here. It's titled Jagged Form and it's a powerful expression of perpendicular, parallel form juxtaposed by a single wandering, unknown black form that seems to have a destination in mind. Or, without sign-posts, is it lost? Jagged Form is—with its yellows, from the brightest, most saturated lemon to the palest lemonade, to the solid coal-black of the form—a romp in color and contrasts. Jagged Form is a mystery of intent; a puzzle never to be solved. It is a treat for the eye and a singular hint at the vision of the artist, Harold Krisel.

Artist Harold Krisel

One more thing makes this piece of art so special for us: We acquired it from two of Harold Krisel's family members.

Comments

[Jeff Jacobs]

I have five Harold Krisel serigraphs that I have had stored for over twenty years. If you are interested, send me an email. I've been meaning to sell all but one, but have put it on the back burner. Let me know, they are pretty nice.

[Stephen]

Hi Jeff — If you would send me jpeg or png files and what you are asking for each one, if I'm not interested perhaps I could post them here. Let me know.

Stephen@Brockelman.com

[Sean]

Hi guys. I have a question I hope you can answer. I have three of Krisel's later works. He gave them to my grandparents years ago (we live in Sag Harbor, the next town over from Bridgehampton) and I discovered them in 2010 while cleaning out their house after my grandmother passed away. I contacted the McCormick Gallery and they never responded. I was successful in contacting one of the museums in NYC but they told me to hold on to it since they were looking for his earlier work. I couldn't get a value on the pieces. Well, today, Aug 11, 2012, they were destroyed by the real estate broker and people looking at the house I live in. They need to be held responsible for their negligence and I am trying to find a way to get a value on them prior to the damaged incurred today. If you can help in any way, it would be much appreciated.