measures about 18" x 24". the newsprint is addicted to a cardstock instead of the usual masonite on this gorgeous colorful piece.
the father of Rhode Island's famous Wickford Art Festival in Rhode Island.
These pieces are part of the original estate collection, and many are unsigned. But, the beauty and magic is in Huszer's own hand. These figure studies are generally newsprint pasted on board, often with subtle neutral blue fill to make them fit will with almost any modern interior. Pieces come unframed, but are very simple to make a quick frame for display or to have it professionally done. These would be the exact type of works Huszer would be seen setting out at what would become a reknowned and bustling art festival. This collection of studies are from the 1950s and 60s generally.
A peculiar artist named John Huszer, hoping for a little income, laid out his paintings on the sidewalk one day in the 1950s. How he sold not one or two but 40 paintings that season, and how soon other artists were following suit, laying out their work on the sidewalk or Updike Park for the public to peruse.
By 1962, the casual display had taken on the imprimatur of an event, and the Wickford Art Festival was born.
But while the origins of the festival are fairly well known, less is known about Huszer himself, a complicated and intense man who loved to teach art but also loved to be alone, so much so that he spent three years on tiny Cornelius Island in Wickford Harbor, bringing his paintings back to the village by boat.
After studying at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League of New York, John Huszer (1912-1983) moved to Rhode Island to live, teach, and create. He was known as an independent and reclusive artist, spending years dividing his time between a tiny island in Wickford Harbor and teaching from downtown Wickford. A man of small means, Huszer painted on newsprint because it was readily available.
If looking for other figure studies for a commercial project or salon wall, we have many hundreds from a collection of important skilled artist portfolios collected over the years... Many RISD graduates, signpainters, advertisers, and career artists. Especially focused on the styles definitive of the 1940s-1960s.