Haley+G.

__Irving Boyer 1900-1983 __



Image from : nyhistory.org

Irving Boyer (1900-1983) was born in Russia at the start of the 20th century, a time when surrealism was popular. Surrealism, started in the mid-20s, focused on the psychological aspect of the arts and dreams, making the images impossible to comprehend. Boyer, an oil painter, used surrealism in many of his paintings.

Boyer migrated to America at the age of 5. Boyer studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and later opened up his own studios across America throughout the course of his lifetime. Besides painting using surrealism, he painted events that he saw. One of his most famous paintings, on display at the New York Historical Society Henry Luce Center for the Study of American Culture, was Prospect Park. One day, while riding home to Brooklyn on a subway, Boyer saw something that amused him. It was wartime in America, and he saw a crowd of sailors, soldiers, and their female companions at Prospect Park Station. One of these women was pick pocketing her male companion. This painting, made in 1943, was given as a gift to the museum.

In addition, Boyer’s family inspired much of his artwork. He painted his parents and children. As his family grew, they inspired much his later artwork. Boyer continued to paint until his death in 1983. He painted over 100 paintings and made 2 sculptures. There is a memorial for Irving Boyer at the Geneva Public Library in Illinois, where his portrait of a Shakespearian actor, circa 1938, is on display.



__Artist’s Statement__

My picture is titled “Portrait of a New Yorker” because it’s a portrait of an ordinary girl that one could see any day out on the streets. This piece was made using chalk.

I got my inspiration for “Portrait of a New Yorker” from Irving Boyer’s “Prospect Park” and many of his black and white portraits of couples. The girl in “Portrait of a New Yorker” is neither beautiful nor ugly, and it is neither exciting nor boring. Average and ordinary still has the ability to catch your eye. This is something that I would like for viewers to understand when looking at my piece of artwork. I enjoyed working on this piece because chalk is my favorite media and the project itself was unique. While this picture is one of my more average works, it managed to catch the eye of many of my peers, which I found interesting. I personally think the face is misshapen and emotionless. The lips aren’t grimacing as I meant them to be, and I was unable to add raindrops to the picture. I can honestly say, though, that my flaws add perspective and give it the finishing touch. To create “Portrait of a New Yorker”, I simply did my best to sketch what I saw in chalk, and I smudged the lines to make it look realistic.

I thoroughly enjoyed painting “Portrait of a New Yorker” and I hope that others thoroughly enjoy looking at it.