Elijah KANAREK

ROUNDS OF THE RIVER Oil, canvas; 40 x 50 cm

Signed l.d.: E.Kanarek

Asking price 6250

Estimate 9000 - 10000

Eliasz KANAREK

1901 Skowierzyna - 1969 Scotsville

Painter from the circle of the so-called "Pruszkowiaks" - disciples of Tadeusz Pruszkowski, began his studies at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts under his direction in 1923. He was a member of the "Brotherhood of St. Luke," established in 1925, and went on summer plein-air painting trips to Kazimierz on the Vistula River with his professor and colleagues. He participated in exhibitions of the Brotherhood, and also exhibited with the group Blok ZAP, at the Warsaw IPS and abroad, including the Venice Biennale (1934) and the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh (1937). As a cartoonist, he collaborated with the satirical magazine "Pins". In 1938, together with Pruszkowski and fellow Brotherhood members, he worked on a set of seven paintings on historical subjects for the World Exhibition in New York. In March 1939 - together with Boleslaw Cybis - he sailed "Batory" to the USA to supervise the installation of the Polish Pavilion (opened on May 3, 1939) at the exhibition. There he was found by the war, after which he did not return to the country.

Like all "Lukasz" painters, he was very concerned with workshop perfection. He painted portraits, still lifes, landscapes and figural scenes, including religious ones. His earlier works are kept in dark tones, while his later ones, painted with a lighter color palette, approach the trend of colorism. Sometimes he introduced elements of humor, grotesque, stylization or even deformation of figures.