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ArtinNewYork;PennsylvaniaAcademyoftheFineArts;Denver(Colorado)Art
Museum;CaliforniaPalaceoftheLegionofHonor,SanFrancisco;PhillipsMemorial
Gallery,Washington,D.C.;AddisonGalleryofAmericanArt,PhillipsAcademy,
Andover,Massachusetts;Dallas(Texas)MuseumofFineArts;IowaStateCollege
atAmes,Iowa;BakerUniv'ersityatWichita,Kansas;theBrooklynMuseum;and
theSantaBarbara (California)MuseumofArt.HelivesinBerkeley,California,
andinRanchesdeTaos,NewMexico.Hisaversiontocommentingabouthisown
paintingwasindicatedinthecatalogueoftheUniversityofIllinoisExhibitionof
ContemporaryAmericanPaintingin1951.
LORAN,Erie,RockFluorescence, 34 x52. Illustration—Plate 54
"Non-objectiveformisalwaysbasedonexperience.Whethertheartistworks
entirelyfromtheunconsciousorwhetherhehasbeentrainedtotrackdownhis
hiddenmotivationsmattersnotatall.Everypaintinghasasubject.RockFluorescence
happenstobebasedonformsseeninnaturebutthemotivatingidea,assuggestedby
thetitle,haditsorigininasmallmuseumdisplayoffluorescentrocks.Thefore-
goingstatementisinthenatureofarthistoryandhasnobearingonplasticqualities
thatmayexistinthepaintingandwhichalonecandetermineitsaestheticvalue.
"Moreandmorethecontemporaryartist,workinginanon-objectiveidiom,
realizesthatheisinterestedinsomethingthatgoesbeyondmerestructureand
plasticrealization.Heissearchingforformsthatwillhaveforhimandhiscon-
temporariesthemagic,symbolicmeaningthatexistsintheworkofprimitivetribal
art.Ourtragedyistoliveinatimethathasnoorganizediconography,noreligion,
nosystemofsocietiesthatrequiretheservicesofartiststomaketheirsymbolscon-
creteforworshiporritual,aswasthecaseinEgypt,Greece,EarlyChristianity,and
inprimitivecivilizations.Itisfortheobservertofindintheworkwhathecanin
thewayofidols,symbols,ideas.Throughintuitiveandaestheticfeelingtheobserver
mayfindsomeappealinmodernpaintingforhisowninnerlifeofthoughtand
fantasy."
ErieLoranwasborn inMinneapolis,Minnesota, in1905. Heattendedthe
UniversityofMinnesotaandwasgraduatedfromtheMinneapolisSchoolofArtin
1926,thesameyearinwhichhewonthenationalcompetitionfortheParisPrizeof
$6,000givenbytheJohnA.ChalonerFoundationofNewYorkCity.Traveland
paintinginEuropefornearlyfouryearsfollowed.Forovertwoyearshelivedin
thestudioofPaulCezanneinAix-en-Provenceandgatheredmaterialforabook
onCezanneintheenvironsofAixandL'Estaque.Hehasbeenteachinginthe.^rt
DepartmentoftheUniversityofCaliforniaatBerkeleysince1936.
Prizesandawards,inadditiontotheChalonerPrize,includesevenprizesin
showsinMinnesotabetween 1924 and1935;seventeenawards(prizesandHonorable
Mention),especiallyinwatercolor,inexhibitionsinCaliforniafrom^1937 to1951,
andhonorsatthePennsylvania.AcademyoftheFineArtsandinChicago.Hiswork
wasalsoawardedamedalatthePepsi-Colashowsof1948-1949.Loran'sworkhas
appearedveryfrequentlyinnationalexhibitions,juried,invited,andotherwise,and
hehashadeighteenone-manshowssince1931.Hehaswrittenextensivelyforperi-
odicalsandistheauthorofCezanne'sComposition,firstpublishedin 1943,the
resultofasubsidygrantedbytheAmericanCouncilofLearnedSocietiesincon-
junctionwiththeCarnegieCorporation,andinitssixthprintingin1950.
HisworkformspartofthepermanentcollectionsoftheDenver (Colorado)
ArtMuseum;SanFrancisco(California)MuseumofArt;SantaBarbara(California)
Museumof.Art;UniversityofMinnesota;Fine.ArtsSocietyofSanDiego(Cali-