Michael
Werner (1912-1989) - brief biography:
Born
in France, 1912, Werner studied at the famous Atelier 17 studio in Paris, under
the British painter and printmaker Stanley Hayter. Aged 26, Werner moved to the
UK, where he would remain until his death. In 1960, he was represented by
Annely Juda Fine Art, London, and exhibited at ICA; Arts Council; Royal
Academy; and MOMA (Paris), among others. From 1959 until his retirement,
Werner held teaching posts at various art schools across the country.
Werner
is represented in the permanent public collections of MOMA (Los Angeles), and
Smithsonian Institute (Washington), while examples of his work were
also included in the private collections of art historian E. H.
Gombrich, and the British Surrealist Sir Roland Penrose.
A
versatile artist who experimented with different media and styles, Werner
produced portrait busts (including one of the poet WH Auden); Abstract
Expressionist paintings; as well as Pop Art collages. In the last 20 years
of his life, Werner turned his attention to small pen on paper drawings, which
referenced abstraction, Abstract Expressionism, and Surrealism. In
this drawing, the delicately applied pen lines simultaneously resemble (a
side-on view of) a human's face, and abstract pattern.
Size of image: 23 x 16 cms
sheet: 50 x 40 cms