Blog
Artist: Josef Presser
May 29 2017
Josef Presser, born April 18, 1909 in Lublin, Poland immigrated to Boston, MA in 1913 and at the age of 12 was admitted into the Boston Museum School of Art on a four-year scholarship. Being the youngest student ever admitted to the program indicated how much talent he already possessed.
After completing his program at BMFA, Presser returned to Europe to work and study art abroad in the late 1920s. There he studied the works of the Renaissance masters as well as gain inspiration for future work by becoming employed by circuses and other traveling shows. Much of his work from this time shows his interest in horses.
He returned to the United States in 1931 to pursue his painting career in Philadelphia, PA. Here, he would begin his career painting murals for the WPA, as well as accepting private commissions for horse portraits and murals. He also began to sell his paintings that had a greater level of intensity that reflected the seriousness of the Great Depression.
In the mid 1930s Presser moved to New York, NY, and met Agnes Hart, a NYC artist and his future wife. After his marriage to Agnes Hart, he would move to a studio on 14th St in New York, NY (1940) and a year later added a studio in Woodstock, NY.
Presser continued to paint and teach until 1964, when he returned to Europe, to live and paint in Paris, France. He died 3 years later.
The image below is a painting by Josef Presser that we currently have for sale. Click the image to view additional information about the image
If you have a strong inclination to learn more about Josef Presser, visit the Smithsonian’s Archive of American Art. They have part of his personal archive from 1913-1976.
https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/josef-presser-papers-8949
Or you can read about some of his work here:
New Deal Art in North Carolina: The Murals, Sculptures, Reliefs, Paintings, Oils, and Frescos and Their Creators By Anita Price Davis
and
Josef Presser 1909-1967 Published by Inter Art Galerie Reich