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The Artist's Hand: The
Art of Nicolai Fechin
October 5 - December 29, 2007
Over 30 works by Russian-American
artist Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) are on display at the Stark Museum of
Art October 5 through December 29, 2007. The Artist's Hand: The Art of
Nicolai Fechin will include charcoal drawings, oil paintings, and carved
wooden sculptures depicting portraiture, landscapes, still lifes, and scenes
of Indian life. The collection is an expanded version of Fechin: A Taos
Homecoming that was recently on loan to the Taos Art Museum and Fechin
House in Taos, New Mexico.
Best known for his paintings, Fechin developed a style
with an expressionistic application of paint and bold colors that was nevertheless
grounded in realism. His charcoal drawings show his mastery of the line
and his ability to create a sense of form and three dimensions through contours
and shading. His simple sculptural forms echo the elemental nature of his
drawings; however, the surfaces retain the evidence of the artist's expressionistic
hand in direct carving.
Museum director Sarah Boehme says the exhibition is a wonderful
opportunity to see the range of Fechin's work. "I think people can
identify with the deep emotion he expresses in his works of art from his
wood carvings to his exuberant studies of landscape such as the beautiful
Cactus," said Boehme.
Born in Russia in 1881, Fechin studied at the Kazan Art
School and then the prestigious Imperial Art Academy in St. Petersburg.
He returned to Kazan to teach but immigrated to the United States in 1923
following the Russian revolution. Although he made a home in New York, his
ailing health prompted him to seek a healthier climate. He discovered and
relocated to Taos, New Mexico, his inspiration for the works featured in
the Stark Museum of Art.
Having the largest collection of Fechin pieces in the world,
the Stark Museum of Art recently loaned a portion of the current exhibition
to the Taos Art Museum and Fechin house to commemorate the 125th anniversary
of the artist's birth. Said Boehme, "We were pleased to be able to
share this exhibition, so the works could be seen in the environment in
which Fechin created them. After its successful showing in Taos, we are
delighted to bring it back and show it in Orange with additional works."
The exhibition catalog: Fechin: A Taos Homecoming is
available for purchase at the Museum Store. The publication served as the
catalog for this exhibition in Taos, New Mexico, and contains reproductions
of most of the works featured.
Selected Bibliography
- Ainsworth, Ed. Painters of the Desert. Palm Springs,
CA: Desert Magazine, 1960.
-
- Balcomb, Mary N. Nicolai Fechin. Flagstaff, AZ:
Northland Press, 1975, Principal biography of Fechin, with foreword by
his daughter Eya. Many illustrations in color.
-
- Fechin, Alexandra. March of the Past. Santa Fe:
Writers' Editions, Rydal Press, 1937. The wife of Nicolai Fechin tells
of her experiences during the Russian Revolution.
-
- Fechin, Eya. Fechin: The Builder. Santa Fe: Blue
Feather Press, 1982. Publication by Nicolai Fechin's daughter on his home
in Taos, his carved furniture and his wood sculpture.
-
- Fechin, Eya. 1987. Interview by Rodger Rak (Curator,
Stark Museum of Art) at Taos, NM. August 26-27, 1987. Partial transcript.
Archives, Stark Museum of Art, Orange, TX.
-
- Fechin, Eya. "Teenage Memories of Taos: Artist's
daughter recollects the 'real' America," American West, November/December,
1984.
-
- Fenn, Forrest. The Genius of Nicolai Fechin: Recollections
by Forrest Fenn. Santa Fe: One Horse Land & Cattle Company, 2001.
Photographs from Fechin's Mexico trip with general essay on the artist.
-
- Good, Stephen L. "The Works of N. Fechin,"
Gilcrease Magazine, [special issue] February, 1986.
-
- Hunt, David C. "Nicolai Fechin's Portraits from
Life," American Art Review, April, 2004.
-
- Essay on Fechin's portraiture by former Stark Museum
of Art Director. Illustrated with works from the Stark Museum of Art collection.
-
- Hunter, Richard. "Nicolai Fechin: A Look at Life,"
Fine Art Connoisseur, May, 2006. Essay on Fechin's life by former
Collections Manager of the Stark Museum of Art. Illustrated with works
from the Stark Museum of Art collection.
-
- Jellico, John. "Master of Emotion and Intellect,"
Southwest Art, November, 1991.
-
- -- "N.F. Nicolai Fechin," Southwestern Art
V (1976): 19-31.
-
- -- "N. Fechin," Artists of the Rockies and
the Golden West, Summer, 1981.
-
- -- "Nicolai Fechin" American Artist, March,
1959.
-
- McCracken, Harold. Nicolai Fechin. New York: The
Hammer Galleries, 1961.
-
- National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center.
"Nicolai Fechin," Persimmon Hill, [special issue] Summer,
1978. Entire issue dedicated to Fechin, includes Autobiography: the
Russian Years, and Fechin on Art by Nicolai Fechin as well as
other articles by his daughter and four Fechin critics.
-
- Nelda C. & H. J. Lutcher Stark Foundation. Nicolai
Fechin: For the Love of Art. Orange, TX: Nelda C. & H. J. Lutcher
Stark Foundation, 1987.
-
- Nordmann, Joseph B. "N Fechin a Personal Memory,"
Western Art Digest, Summer, 1985.
-
- Paladin, Vivian A. "From the Volga to the Pacific,"
Art West, September/October,1981.
-
- Samuels, Peggy and Harold. Techniques of the Artists
of the American West. Secaucus, NJ: The Wellfleet Press, 1990. Includes
an examination of a Fechin painting for technique and style.
-
- Schriever, George. "Nicolai Fechin: Russian Artist
in the American West," American West, May/June, 1982.
-
- Scott, Amy. Nicolai Fechin: Across Two Continents.
Santa Fe: Gerald Peters Gallery, 1997. Includes interview with Fechin's
daughter, Eya.
-
- Taos Art Museum. Fechin: A Taos Homecoming, Taos,
NM: Taos Art Museum, 2006. Exhibition catalog. All works are from the Stark
Museum of Art collection.
-
- Tuluzakova, Galina. "The Art of Nicolai Fechin,"
El Palacio, Summer, 2004.
-
- Van Deventer, M.J. "Nicolai Fechin," Southwest
Art, November, 1991.
-
- Waters, Frank. "Nicolai Fechin," Arizona
Highways, February, 1952.
-
Selected titles may be available for purchase in the Museum
Store, the holdings of your local library, or can often be borrowed through
inter-library loan.
Wall texts for the exhibition
- Works of art by Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) reveal vividly
the personal touch of and stylistic mastery of the artist in several media.
Best known for his paintings, Fechin developed a style with an expressionistic
application of paint and bold colors that was nevertheless grounded in
realism. His charcoal drawings show his mastery of the use of line and
his ability to create a sense of form and three dimensions through contours
and shading. In his sculptures he created simple forms that echo the
elemental nature of his drawings. The surfaces, however, retain the evidence
of the artist's expressionistic hand in direct carving.
-
- Nicolai Fechin
-
- Nicolai Fechin (1881-1955) developed his art from the
dual influences of his native Russian and immigrant American experiences.
Fechin (generally accepted pronunciation: fay SHIN) was born in
Kazan, Russia, in 1881. He received his early encouragement from his father,
a wood carver and metal worker. Fechin studied at the Kazan Art School,
then the rigorous Imperial Art Academy in St. Petersburg. He traveled
to view art, including the works of the French Impressionists and the German
Expressionists. The artist returned to Kazan to teach. Fechin married
Alexandra Belkovich in 1913, and the following year their daughter Eya
was born. Several years after the Russian revolution, the Fechins immigrated
to the United States in 1923.
-
- Searching for a healthy climate, Fechin and family visited
Taos, New Mexico in 1926. Fechin found inspiring subjects in the people
and landscape of New Mexico, and the family moved there the following year.
After a divorce from Alexandra, Nicolai left Taos in 1933. He undertook
several important trips to locales such as Mexico and Bali and settled
in southern California. He taught art and continued to paint until his
death in Santa Monica, California, in 1955.
Checklist
-
- Head Of Black Man
- 1930
- Carved pine
- 14" High X 21" Cir. (35.6 X 53.3 Cm
- 21.3/1
-
- Head Of Woman
- 1929
- Carved pine
- 25" High X 27" Cir.(63.5 X 68.6 Cm
- 21.3/2
-
- The Madonna
- n.d.
- Carved pine
- 12 3/4" High X 20 1/2" Cir.
- 21.3/5
-
- Head Of Young Girl
- n.d.
- Carved pine
- 14 1/2" High X 25 1/2" Cir.
- 21.3/6
-
- Head Of Young Girl
- n.d.
- Carved pine
- 13" High X 25 1/2" Cir.(33.0 X 64.8
- 21.3/7
-
- Head Of Small Girl
- n.d.
- Carved pine
- 8" High X 17 1/2" Cir.(20.3 X 44.4)
- 21.3/8
-
- Taos, Flowers In Henry Sharp'S Yard
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 20 X 24 1/8 (50.8 X 61.3 Cm)
- 31.28/4
-
- Juan
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 16 X 11 7/8 (40.6 X 30.2 Cm)
- 31.28/6
-
- Girl
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 19 1/4 X 15 3/8 (48.9 X 39.0 Cm)
- 31.28/7
-
- Russian Landscape, Village Of Hope, Kazan Province
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 9 1/2 X 17 1/4" (24.1 X 43.8 Cm)
- 31.28/8
-
- The Chicken House
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 12 3/4 X 18" (32.4 X 45.7 Cm)
- 31.28/10
-
- Cactus
- 1925
- Oil on canvas
- 24 X 20" (61.0 C 50.8 Cm)
- 31.28/11
-
- Head Of Mexican Man
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 20 1/4 X 16 1/4" (51.4 X 41.3 Cm)
- 31.28/12
-
- Nikki Rupert
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 10 X 8 3/8" (25.4 X 21.3 Cm)
- 31.28/16
-
- La Abuela (The Grandmother)
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 18 3/8 X 14 5/8" (46.7 X 37.1 Cm)
- 31.28/18
-
- Girl In Green Blouse
- n.d.
- Oil on wood panel
- 13 X 9 3/4" (33.0 X 24.8 Cm)
- 31.28/19
-
- Russian Lady
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 19 X 15" (48.3 X 38.1 Cm)
- 31.28/20
-
- Girl
- n.d.
- Tempera and oil on pressed wood
- 12 X 9 1/2" (30.5 X 24.1 Cm)
- 31.28/22
-
- Indian Boy In Blue
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 16 1/8 X 13" (41.1 X 33.0 Cm)
- 31.28/25
-
- Indian Boy In Blue (Frame Carved By The Artist)
- n.d.
- Charcoal on paper
- 17 1/16 X 12 1/4" (43.3 X 31.1 Cm)
- 31.28/26
-
- Mother And Child (Alexandra Belkovitch Fechin & Eya Fechin Branham)
- c. 1917
- Oil on canvas
- 24 X 20" (61.0 X 50.8 Cm)
- 31.28/27
-
- Mexican Boy
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 15 1/4 X 7 7/8" (38.7 X 20.0 Cm)
- 31.28/28
-
- Winter Scene (Snow Fell On The Mountains At Taos)
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 15 X 25" (38.1 X 63.5 Cm)
- 31.28/32
-
- Girl With Orange Shawl
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 14 X 10 1/4" (35.6 X 26.0 Cm)
- 31.28/34
-
- Eya, My Daughter
- 1924
- Oil on canvas
- 16 7/8 X 12 7/8" (42.9 X 32.7 Cm)
- 31.28/36
-
- Lola (Mrs. Triano), Spanish Dancer
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 30 1/8 X 20 1/8" (76.5 X 51.1 Cm)
- 31.28/37
-
- Daffodils
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 24 X 20" (61.0 X 50.8 Cm)
- 31.28/38
-
- Joe With Drum
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 24 X 20" (61.0 X 50.8 Cm)
- 31.28/39
-
- Adobe House
- 1926
- Oil on canvas on panel
- 15 _ X 17 _" (40.0 X 45.1 Cm)
- 31.28/40
-
- Wood Carriers (Two Donkeys In Forest)
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 24 X 20" (61.0 X 50.8 Cm)
- 31.28/42
-
- Indian Corn
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas on panel
- 20 X 24" (50.8 X 61.0 Cm)
- 31.28/45
-
- The Indian Dancers
- c. 1945
- Oil on canvas on panel
- 12 3/4 X 19 1/2" (32.4 X 49.5 Cm)
- 31.28/46
-
- Black And White Cow
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 8 1/2 X 41 3/4 " (21.6 X 37.5 Cm)
- 31.28/47
-
- Old Adobe And Chickens
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 10 3/4 X 17 1/4" (27.3 X 43.8 Cm)
- 31.28/49
-
- Cow And Calf
- n.d.
- Oil on canvas
- 8 3/8 X 15" (21.3 X 38.1 Cm)
- 31.28/52
-
- Fechin's Father
- 1952
- Charcoal on paper
- 18 3/8 X 14 5/8" (46.7 X 37.1 Cm)
- 31.28/53
-
- Eya
- n.d.
- Charcoal on paper
- 18 X 13 1/4" (45.7 X 33.7 Cm)
- 31.28/54
-
- Self-Portrait
- n.d.
- Charcoal on paper
- 16 7/8 X 13" (42.9 X 33.0 Cm)
- 31.28/55
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