ESTHER HAMERMAN

(Polish-American, 1886-1977)

THE BIRTHDAY PARTY

Gouache Watercolor and India Ink on Card

12 x 8 inches

Signed Lower Left and dated ‘October 1953’

Esther Hamerman’s subject matter is her childhood in turn-of-the-century Poland together with traditional scenes of community activities and ambitious panoramic views. Bonnie Grossman, writing in The Folk Art Messenger Vol.17. No. 1 2004, says that “childhood events, a special occasion, a holiday, a home-coming....any can emerge from her canvases. Her palette, composition, and spontaneity are absolutely original, and her work is neither fussy nor contrived.” The critic Alfred Frankenstein, called Hamerman “the Grandma Moses of the West Coast.” He added, though, that “with all due respect to Grandma Moses, she paints more beautifully.” Among the awards Hamerman received during her lifetime were a Juried award from the Whitney Museum of American Art and numerous one-person exhibitions, including at the de Young and Oakland Museums. In Hamerman’s biographical entry in the Encyclopedia of American Folk Art, Gerard C.Wertkin writes that Hamerman’s palette is ‘jewel-like and beautifully nuanced.’ We are pleased to offer this gem-like painting which so perfectly exemplifies the work of this notable American Folk artist.

Reference:

Encyclopedia of American Folk Art By Gerard C. Wertkin, p.223; A Time to Reap: Late Blooming Folk Artists, Kaufman and Barrett; Cat and Ball on a Waterfall: 200 Hundred Years of California Folk Painting and Sculpture, Oakland Museum; Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists, Rosenak; Artfact; Ask Art; Smithsonian American Art Museum Website; et al.