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worldoflegendaryromance.InpaintingthiscanvasIhavetriedtopreserveanew
aspectofrhythmandsurprise.ToavoidthesuperficialIhaveconcentratedona
formofplasticfreedomcombinedwithakindofnewarchitecture.ThisIhadhoped
wouldresultinadeeperformofpictorialrepresentation.WhileIwasconcernedwith
abstractdevelopmentatthistime,Iwasmorepreoccupiedwithauseofsymbols,
whichwouldenablemetoexpressadeepertruth.Alldecorativeeflfectsareavoided
andastructuraluseofformsissubstituted.Withmyfigureasaneternaltroubador
mountedonahorseIhavetriedtocreateanexpressionofpoeticsentiment.\Vithmy
useofrestrainedcolorharmoniesIhavetriedforasubtlesumptuousness.Ialso
wantedthecanvastopossessaflourishandofF-handednesstogiveit'edge.'Instead
oftr\ingto'tellastory,'Iwasmoreconcernedwithgivingbirthtoanewconception
—anewlanguageofcreativeimagination."
HenryBotkinwasborninBoston,Massachusett.s,in 1896.Hestudiedatthe
MassachusettsSchoolofArtinBoston,theArtStudentsLeagueofNewYork,andin
Paris,wherehebuiltastudioin^1926 andspentsevenyearsdevelopinghisart.Close
associationwithhiscousin,thelateGeorgeGershwin,ledtomanyofhisearlier
achievementsinart.AwardsandprizesincludeFirstPrizeatthe.Audubon.Artists
annualexhibitionin1945,apurchaseprizeinthePepsi-Colashowof1947,andthe
GrumbacherPrizeatthe.Audubon.Artistsannualexhibitionin1950.
Botkin'spaintingsareincludedinthepermanentcollectionsoftheMetropolitan
MuseumofArtandMuseumofModernArtinNewYork;PhillipsMemorialCaller)',
Washington,D.C.;BrooklynMuseum;Newark(NewJersey) MuseumAssociation;
Denver(Colorado)ArtMuseum;WalkerArtCenter,Minneapolis,Minnesota;Akron
(Ohio)ArtInstitute;NortonCaller)-,WestPalmBeach,Florida;theuniversitiesof
OklahomaandNebraska;AbbottLaboratories;.AivHarod.ArtMuseum;andthe
museumatTelAviv,Israel.Heisalsorepresentedinmorethanseventy-fiveprivate
collections inthe UnitedStates,Europe,and SouthAmerica,includingthoseof
EdwardG.Robinson,JamesP.Warburg,andMossHart.HelivesinNewYorkCity.
BOTTO,Otto,Landscape, 24 x30.
"ThepaintingcalledLandscajicistheresultofmanydrawings,mostlydonein
NewYork'sCentralPark.
"Itis,ofcourse,notthepark.Itiscomposedofmemories,memoriesofthe
daysofmyyouth,ofthemountainsandtheeverchangingsunandtreesandbirds,the
tinyhamletsmountedhopefullyonsteep,greenpastures.
"ArtandnaturearcdilTcrent,butIliketounitethem.Iliketopenetrateinto
thedynamicpropertiesofcolorandcreateastructuralunityandanintegratedplastic
orchestrationandtransformthisgreatemotioninto formandshapes.Thereisof
coursenothingnewaboutthis;itisasoldasartitself;buttheinterpretation—that
issomethingelseagain."
OttoBottowasborninRagaz,.Swilzcrlanil,in19(1:1.Inhisnati\cl.mdhestudied
attheSchoolof.Applied.Art,theCollegeofSt..Anthony,andwiihprivateteachers.
HearrivedintheL'niteclStalesof.Americain1925.
One-manexhibitionsbeganin1935,andhisworkhasbeen.seeningroupexhibi-
tionsacrossthecountry.Bottohasworkedonmuralsinas.sociationwith Stefan
HirschandJeanCiharlotandwascommissionedbytheSwissgovernmenttodo
muralsattheNewYorkWorld'sFairof1939.HisworkisrepresentedintheBrooklyn
Librar)-andinmanyprivatecollections.In 1948 Bottowasappointedtoaposition
attheBrooklynMuseum.ArtSchool.HelivesinNorthBergen,NewJersey.
