This and a second graphite and watercolor sketchbook drawing of cats today, by American painter C. Bertram Hartman (1882–1960), which I purchased from an artist/dealer in Cambridge, MA, this one dated 1948. I think it is a very charming and full of life drawing, and with the isolated use of watercolor on the kitten heightening its individuality/the distinction between it and its mother...and so a very tender feeling portrait of connection that also foreshadows separation.
Hartman studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, and in Paris, then remained, with his wife Augusta ("Gusta"), based in New York City, where they was especially close to Gaston Lachaise and his wife Isabel Nagle Lachaise. In 1933/1934 Hartman was represented by two works in the first ever Whitney Biennial. His work is held in the collections of the Whitney, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum, among other museum collections. He also produced numerous murals as part of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration.
9 1/2" x 7 3/4". Good condition, graphite and watercolor on drawing paper, graphite and color very strong, minimal toning. Left edge uneven from spiral binding--with tip of ear extending to edge, so best left untrimmed and floated in frame.
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