Morris Gest
Artist:
Wayman Adams
(American, 1883 - 1959)
Date: n.d.
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
54 x 36 in. (137.2 x 91.4 cm)
Credit Line: San Antonio Museum of Art, purchased with funds from the Blaffer Foundation
Object number: 76.186
Copyright: © Wayman Adams
Provenance: Collection of the Adams Family until 1976
Label Text
Wayman Adams was born September 23, 1883 in Muncie, Indiana. He studied with William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri. Adams worked mainly as a portrait painter in New York. In this work is seen the influence of his study of painting with Henri, who advocated the use of the world around them as subject matter and who used portraits as his main area of expression.
This is a portrait of Morris Gest. The gentleman is seated on a red plush chair, turned slightly to the right. He is dressed in a dark brown suit, soft felt hat, blue shirt and bow tie. He is a man of dramatic flair and holds a cigarette in his left hand. Morris Gest was a theatrical producer who was born in Russia in 1881. He came to the U.S. in 1893 and began in the theatrical business in Boston that year, when he was twelve years old. He later became part of a firm that produced over 50 plays between 1905-1928 in New York. He was the first impresario to bring original Russian ballet to America.
Adams followed Henri's teachings of a loose brush work and quickly executed style. The massive bunch of drapes that form a zig-zag shape in the background add to the flowing, billowy movement of the painting.
This is a portrait of Morris Gest. The gentleman is seated on a red plush chair, turned slightly to the right. He is dressed in a dark brown suit, soft felt hat, blue shirt and bow tie. He is a man of dramatic flair and holds a cigarette in his left hand. Morris Gest was a theatrical producer who was born in Russia in 1881. He came to the U.S. in 1893 and began in the theatrical business in Boston that year, when he was twelve years old. He later became part of a firm that produced over 50 plays between 1905-1928 in New York. He was the first impresario to bring original Russian ballet to America.
Adams followed Henri's teachings of a loose brush work and quickly executed style. The massive bunch of drapes that form a zig-zag shape in the background add to the flowing, billowy movement of the painting.
Not on view
In Collection(s)
The San Antonio Museum of Art is in the process of digitizing its permanent collection. This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect SAMA's complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of such records is ongoing.
This resource has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
