Ernest Lothar “Woman Combing Hair No. 2”

Ernest Lothar (1906-1961) studied painting in Vienna where he grew up. Being of Jewish descent, he was forced to flee to a Swiss refugee camp in the 1930s. There he worked as a stone-breaker building roads in Switzerland; despite this, he still managed to create and teach art to other refugees in the camp. As action heated up in WWII, Switzerland’s neutrality was under threat. He and other members of the camp had the opportunity to flee further to the Dominican Republic. He supported himself upon arrival, finding work on tobacco plantations. All the while he was still making art. He made connections with other artist and began turning heads, eventually landing a teaching position at the National School of Fine Arts in 1945. Shortly thereafter in 1947 he and his family immigrated to the United States, landing in Washington D.C.. Here he had his first solo exhibits and galleries began representing his art both in D.C. and as far as Beverly Hills. Lothar died young in 1961, and his art was largely forgotten before being rediscovered and and shown for the first time in decades in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in 2019, not far from his granddaughter’s home.
We at Kalos Acquisitions are honored to offer Lothar’s “Woman Combing Hair No. 2”. This piece is estimated to have been produced in the late 1940s. The deco and mid-century influence is on full display, with the bright use of color, and abstract representation. Lothar framed many of his paintings himself, and our beautiful lady sports her original rusticated frame by the artist’s own hand.
Oil on canvas.
21” X 13”