Carl Holty

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BORN: 1900, Frieburg, Germany

DIED: 1973, New York City, NY

Carl Holty was Milwaukee’s first abstract artist to become internationally known. He was also a leading figure in the evolution and acceptance of non-objective art.

Carl Holty was born in Frieburg, Germany in 1900 and moved with his family to Milwaukee in his infancy. 

He grew up in Northern Wisconsin and attended classes at Marquette University and the Milwaukee State Normal School of Art (later called the Milwaukee State Teachers College and then UW-Milwaukee). In 1919, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and from 1920 to 1921, he studied at the National Academy of Design and Parsons School of Design in New York. He then returned to Milwaukee to work as a portrait artist for a year and then moved to Munich in 1926 to take classes at the Hans Hofmann School and the Munich Academy.

After Holty received formal training in Munich, he taught in Paris from 1930 to 1932. Then, Holty joined the Abstraction Creation group in Paris, sponsored by Robert Delaunay.During 1926 through 1935, Holty traveled throughout Europe and North Africa to further expand his visual and artistic repertoire.

In 1934 or 1936, Holty returned to the United States to live and teach in New York, continuously returning to Milwaukee to participate in exhibitions. From 1936 to 1944, Holty became a charter member of the American Abstract Artists.  In 1961, Holty became the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s artist-in-residence and in 1969, he co-authored The Painter’s Mind with Romare Bearden. During his later career, he taught at the Art Students League, the Institute of Fine Arts at Washington University in Saint Louis, and Brooklyn College.

While Holty is widely known as an abstract artist and leader of the movement, his early work did have naturalistic tendencies, however he quickly found his niche. His first modernist works were influenced by Juan Gris. In the 1930s, he began to incorporate biomorphic shapes inspired by Jean Arp and Joan Miró and experiment with organic surrealism after Wassily Kandinsky. In 1940, Holty created purely non-objective work inspired by Piet Mondrian and by the late 40s, he returned to figurative subject matter depicted in the cubist manner. In 1950, Holty experimented with pointillism in a few of his landscape works. Towards the 1960s Holty worked in a more abstract expressionist manner with watercolor.

Due to his non-objectional style, Holty is often compared to Picasso.  However unlike some cubists, he embraced a wide range of tones, exploring chromatic abstraction and overlapped planes to create the illusion of more depth. In addition to the artists previously mentioned, he was also known to be influenced by Gustave Moeller, and Gino Severini.

When concerning subject matter, Holty focused on abstracting urban spaces, figures, everyday objects, and visual patterns.

Holty is also known for his murals.

Sources:

Auer, James. “Museum adds work by artist Holty.” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (Milwaukee, WI), 1999.

Baigell, Matthew. “Holty, Carl Robert.” Dictionary of American Art. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979.

 “Carl Holty to Speak Here on Modern Art.” Milwaukee Journal (Milwaukee, WI), Sept. 10, 1947.

“Carl Robert Holty.” Archives. Museum of Wisconsin Art, 11/27/2006. http://www.wisconsinart.org/archives/artist/carl-robert-holty/profile-71.aspx. Accessed May 22, 2017.

“Carl Robert Holty.” Massillon Museum, 2010.

“Carl Robert Holty.” Spanierman Gallery, 3/1/2000.

“Exhibit Features Work of Milwaukee Native Carl Holty.” The New Milwaukee Art Center, 1980.

Getlein, Frank. “Grasp of 20^th Century Style Seen in Work by Carl Holty.” Milwaukee Journal. (Milwaukee, WI), Apr. 5, 1959.

Jensen, Dean. “Carl Holty, Maybe he was sold short by the ‘boys’.” Milwaukee Journal. (Milwaukee, WI), Jan. 2, 1981.

 “Milwaukee Revisited: Carl Holty Tells of War and Art.” Milwaukee Journal. (Milwaukee, WI), Sept. 10, 1947.