Watercolor and guache on paper, 1945, ink signed and dated in upper right and lower left corner, framed under glass.

Sheet size 10 x 8 3/4 in.; Frame dimensions 16 x 13 3/4 in.

Private Collection, Brooklyn, New York

New York-born artist Byron Browne was a central figure in many of the modernist artistic groups that grew during the 1930s. He was an early member of the Artists’ Union, a founding member in 1936 of the American Abstract Artists, and a participant in the Artists’ Congress until 1940 when Browne and others broke away to form the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors.

From 1925 to 1929, Browne studied at the National Academy of Design. Before finishing his studies, he discovered the Gallery of Living Art where he became influenced by the works of Picasso, Braque, Miro, and other modernists. Though heavily influenced by modernism, he remained committed to traditional art styles and his training.

In the 1940s Browne exhibited works at the Samuel Kootz Gallery and at Grand Central Galleries and joined the faculty of the Art Students League. From 1959 he began teaching advanced painting at New York University.

Area of tearing at left edge with associated losses; some creasing at upper right corner; toning at edges; area of damp staining at left edge; not examined outside of frame.