Wolf Kahn facts for kids

Wolf Kahn (born October 4, 1927 – died March 15, 2020) was a famous German-born American painter. He was known for his colorful landscape paintings.

Kahn used different art materials like pastels, oil paint, and printmaking. He combined realistic details with bright, bold colors in his art. He learned from a famous art teacher named Hans Hofmann and also went to the University of Chicago. Wolf Kahn lived in New York City and spent his summers and autumns in West Brattleboro, Vermont.

Wolf Kahn's Early Life and Art Journey

Wolf Kahn was born in 1927 in Stuttgart, Germany. He was the fourth child in his family. His father, Emil Kahn, was a well-known musician, composer, and teacher. Wolf's family was Jewish.

When Wolf was only three years old, his parents sent him to live with his grandmother in Frankfurt, Germany. This was because of difficult times in Germany when Adolf Hitler came to power. His father and other siblings moved to the United States. Wolf started drawing when he was four years old.

Moving to a New Country

In 1937, when Wolf was 10, his grandmother arranged for him to take private art lessons. He loved to draw every day. He was inspired by historical events and famous figures.

In 1939, at age 12, Wolf left Germany for England to live with host families. This was a way for him to be safe during a difficult time. A year later, in 1940, when he was 13, he was able to join his family in New York City.

Becoming an Artist

In 1942, Wolf Kahn started at the High School of Music and Art in New York City. He enjoyed drawing funny pictures called caricatures. After high school, he joined the U.S. Navy for a year.

Later, he studied painting at the New School. He also learned from the famous artist Hans Hofmann. Wolf even became Hofmann's helper in his art studio. In 1949, Kahn went to the University of Chicago and finished his bachelor's degree very quickly.

Family Life

In 1956, Wolf Kahn met another painter named Emily Mason. They got married in Venice, Italy, in 1957. They had two daughters, Cecily and Melany. In 1968, the family bought a farm in Brattleboro, Vermont, where they spent their summers. Wolf Kahn passed away on March 15, 2020, at 92 years old.

Wolf Kahn's Art Style

Wolf Kahn's paintings often showed landscapes and his unique way of seeing nature. He used both oil paints and pastels. His art is known for how he used light and color together. People said his work combined "pictorial landscapes and painterly abstraction." This means his paintings looked like real places but also had a modern, abstract feel with bold colors.

What Inspired Wolf Kahn

Wolf Kahn grew up surrounded by art and books, which likely made him interested in drawing from a young age. When he was at the University of Chicago, he became interested in philosophy. He would sketch sailboats on Lake Michigan while thinking about big ideas.

Later, in the 1960s, he visited the coast of Maine. The foggy weather there changed his art. He started using much more intense and bright colors in his paintings. He realized his paintings were finally as colorful as his pastels.

Where His Art Was Shown

Wolf Kahn had his first art show in 1947 in New York. He also helped organize his own show in 1951. His first solo show (where only his art was displayed) was in 1953.

A big moment for his career came in 1955 when he joined the Grace Borgenicht Gallery. His art was also shown in a major exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art in 1960. Wolf Kahn continued to create new art and have many exhibitions until he passed away. In 2017, he celebrated his 90th birthday with a special show of his recent paintings.

Awards and Recognition

Wolf Kahn received many awards for his art. Some of these include:

• A Fulbright Scholarship in 1962.
• A John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship in 1966.
• An Award in Art from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1979.
• Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Vermont Council on the Arts (1998) and the National Academy (2006).
• The International Medal of Art from the U.S. State Department in 2017.

He was also a member of important art groups like the National Academy of Design and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

In 2005, the Smithsonian Art Collectors Program asked Kahn to create a special print. This print, called Aura, helps support cultural and educational programs at the Smithsonian Associates.

Where to See His Art

Wolf Kahn's paintings are in many museums around the United States. Some of these include:

• Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
• Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
• Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA
• National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
• Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C.
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
• Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT