ARMIN CARL HANSEN
"MARINE PAINTER OF MONTEREY"
William A. Karges Fine Art
Born in San Francisco in 1886, the
well-traveled painter and etcher Armin Hansen was less worldly than
an explorer of life at sea, both on deck and even more so in
capturing the spirit of marine life on canvas.
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| Armin Hansen "Fishing Boats" 10 x 14 inches SOLD |
His father Herman Wendleborg Hansen was a distinguished American Western artist himself who provided him with early instruction. Continuing his studies as a formal painter at what would become the San Francisco Art Institute (then the Hopkins Institute of Art) under Arthur Mathews, Armin went on to the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under Carlos Grethe after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and subsequent fires destroyed much of his home city.
Remaining abroad after finishing, Hansen’s attraction to
marine life led him to Niewpoort, Belgium, and from there on board as
a deckhand on Norwegian fishing trawlers and other commercial
vessels.
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| Armin Hansen "Stormy Sea" 25 x 28 inches SOLD |
He eventually returned to California
and settled in Monterey in 1913. There, eschewing at once the more
conservative impressionistic tradition and the modernist trends of
his day, Hansen went on to fashion a robust style featuring stoic
figures enduring the throng of chaotic seascapes, realized in deep,
saturated primary colors and bold angular brushstrokes.
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| Armin Hansen "Aground" 12 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches SOLD |
Although
throughout his career his subject matter ranged from oils and
etchings of aquarium-like still lifes to landscapes and frenetic
rodeo scenes, he is most known for his depictions of Portuguese,
Japanese, Sicilian fishermen and boats painted in Monterey, which
evince the rugged endurance of men amongst tidal forces and sealed
his legacy as one of California’s most important artists of his
time.
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| Armin Hansen "Cosimo and Pals" 10 x 12 inches SOLD |
Elected to the National Academy of
Design in 1926, Hansen moved in circles including the Carmel Art Association, the Monterey School, and the Society of Six. He was one
of the best teachers of his day, and taught both C.S. Price and
August Francois Gay. He exhibited at the 1915 San Francisco World’s
Fair Panama-Pacific International Exposition. While his subject
matter took up where art and literature of the preceding century left
off, his singular style captured what it was to endure shifting and
elemental forces in America and heavily influenced the techniques of
the modernist generation that studied under him.
For additional information about this important artist, visit the Crocker Art Museum June 6th through October 11th, 2015 to see the comprehensive exhibit, "Armin Hansen: The Artful Voyage". This extraordinary collection of nearly 100 paintings was organized by the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and curated by Scott A. Shields, Associate Director and Chief Curator at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. The collection includes a wide variety of subjects and styles, as well as paintings that have never been seen before by the public. Call (916) 808-7000 for additional information.
The show will open at the Monterey Museum of Art October 29th, 2015 and continues through March 7th, 2016. Call (831) 372-5477 for additional information.
Don't miss this extraordinary opportunity to learn more about this unique, exceptionally talented and influential Early California artist.
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