Morton Kaish (b. 1927-)
Arrival l, 2017
Acrylic on Linen
36 x 36 inches
Framed: 37.5 x 37.5 inches
Morton Kaish is a New York based artist whose paintings, drawings and prints can be found in major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, and the British Museum. He is also a Member of the National Academy of Design which is the leading honorary society for visual artists and architects in the United States.
Critics have noted Kaish’s powerful ability to combine traditional and experimental painting techniques with contemporary insights. His paintings are inspired by a passion for the world around him, which he continues to explore in a diversity of mediums.
The butterfly series was created in 2018 during a family vacation in Italy. "I’m planning to spend a quiet afternoon painting, sitting in front of my window with granddaughter, Katie. But the day has turned grey and rainy. -- The landscape blurred, shifting in the swirling haze. What is there to paint?
Then--a butterfly – miraculously -- emerges from the mist at our window. And we both decide it’s a special gift.! Katie paints a wonderful butterfly and retires. I’ve been painting them ever since. In going forward, I’ve retained the distinctive butterfly contours. The interior markings come from the music in my studio. Inspired by the trios and quartets of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven—and their exquisite expressions of theme and variations... - Morton Kaish
“I’d say that the simplest flower or the tiniest butterfly may be as close to a miracle as we come in our day-to-day lives,” said Kaish. “Nature seems to reach out to us to say something of the mystery and wonder of it all. It may be the sprawl of wildflowers across a meadow or an unexpected flicker of wings where sea meets sky — that will catch the eye and the imagination. And some part of us wants to reply, ‘I was here. I saw this. I felt this.’” - Morton Kaish