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David Humphreys was an American soldier, statesman, diplomat, writer, poet, and biographer.
He received his bachelor's degree from Yale University, where he became a member of the Hartford Witters and taught, and went to serve in the Continental Army in the summer of 1776.
A close friend and aide to George Washington, Humphreys was an eyewitness and active participant in the early years of the United States. During his long career, Col. David Humphreys served as a soldier, secretary, diplomat, and was a writer, poet, orator, biographer, and industrialist. His speeches, poems, literary works, and correspondence with Washington and others of the founding generation serve as a valuable source for historians of the early republic in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Because of his intelligence and diligence, David Humphreys had a long record of service and held many public offices, among others serving as U.S. minister to Spain from 1797 to 1801. He was a member of the Royal Society of London and the American Antiquarian Society.
Fritz Kreidt was a German painter. He was a member of the Künstlersonderbund, an association of German artists committed to realism.
Coming from university, Kreidt's early works were rather abstract, but he soon turned to a more figurative style of representation. He finally found his main subject in melancholic-looking landscape depictions - often industrial wastelands or building sites - which, although often deserted, bear witness to human labour and its transience. Since the year of German reunification in 1990, Kreidt has been concerned with industrial and urban landscapes of the former GDR.
In 2005, Kreidt went on a study trip to China, which inspired him to create the series "Chinese Landscapes". In these works, deviating from his usual technique of oil painting, he often used conté and coloured pencils, with which he rendered architectural and landscape elements in fine strokes in a manner more oriented towards graphic art.
Robert Rafailovich Falk (Russian: Роберт Рафаилович Фальк) was a prominent Russian and Soviet avant-garde painter, born in Moscow in 1886. He is celebrated for his innovative contributions to the Jack of Diamonds group, emphasizing expressive volume and angular, saturated color spots in his works. Falk's artistic journey began at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied under notable artists like Konstantin Korovin and Valentin Serov, and further honed his skills in the studios of Konstantin Yuon and Ilya Mashkov.
Falk's style evolved significantly over his career, initially influenced by Paul Cézanne's approach to painting, which emphasized the sculptural form through the layering of paint. His early works are characterized by bright, contrasting colors and expressive contours, capturing physical and tangible elements in landscapes and still lifes. Falk's unique approach also involved a significant degree of form deformation to enhance emotional expressiveness, a technique that set his work apart from his contemporaries.
After spending a decade in Paris from 1928 to 1938, Falk's work underwent a transformation, favoring more subtle and holistic representations. This period was marked by a focus on the rich, musical qualities of color and light, which he applied to both landscapes and portraits. Upon his return to Moscow, Falk found himself increasingly isolated within the Soviet art scene, yet he continued to produce work that resonated with emotional depth and complexity until his death in 1958.
Falk's legacy includes numerous paintings housed in the New Tretyakov Art Museum in Moscow, demonstrating his lasting influence on both Russian and French modern art traditions. Collectors and art enthusiasts are invited to explore the nuanced and evocative works of Robert Rafailovich Falk, a bridge between early 20th-century modernism and the avant-garde movements that followed. Sign up for updates on new product sales and auction events related to Falk to deepen your appreciation and understanding of this pioneering artist's contributions.