Items Similar to Landscape with people fishing
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10
Morris KatzLandscape with people fishing1978
1978
About the Item
This artwork "Landscape with People Fishing" 1978, is an oil painting on hard board by Polish/American artist Morris Katz, 1932-2010. It is signed and dated at the lower right corner by the artist. The artwork (Hard Board) size is 20 x 24 inches, framed size is 28 x 31.75 inches. Framed in original wooden gold frame, with fabric liner and gold trim. The artwork is in excellent condition, the frame is in very good condition.
About the artist:
On May 9th, 1988, the New York artist set a new world record by painting a 12- by 16-inch canvas of a child in the snow in just half a minute. (It took an additional eight seconds to frame it.) And that wasn’t the only distinction granted to Katz by the Guinness Book of World Records—his name appeared alongside Pablo Picasso’s under the heading for “Most Prolific Painters.” The Spanish master is estimated to have completed some 13,500 paintings in his life; when Katz died in 2010 at age 78, he was credited with 225,000.
Katz’s preposterously productive career began in the small Polish village where he was born in 1932. He started studying under a German painter at age 13, but following World War II he earned a diploma in carpentry instead. In 1949, at the age of 17, he travelled to the United States. It was there that he picked up a paintbrush again, while studying at the Art Students League of New York and showing in the Village. “Soon, I decided I was good enough—compared to others, excellent enough—to make my living as an artist,” he said.
It was during those years that he developed the techniques that would eventually land him in the record books. He tossed out his paintbrushes and replaced them with palette knives and toilet paper, which he used to stipple the paint. “Soon I picked up speed,” Katz said. “If you know which way you’re travelling, then you can run.” He made art in bulk, buying up canvases by the thousands and paint by the gallon. He went through some 10,000 rolls of toilet paper per year; he often wore out palette knives.
Katz branded his method as “instant art.” Charles Salzberg, writing in New York magazine in 1978, urged readers, “Think of him, if you will, as the McDonald’s of the art world”—fast, cheap, and ubiquitous.
He wore a green beret, paint-splattered pants, and a shirt emblazoned with the words “Morris Katz - World’s Most Prolific Artist.” It was a title that came with a price—he worked 18-hour days into his 60s, sometimes from his Greenwich Village studio and other times as a performer at hotels across the Catskills. He would often visit three different hotels in the same day, waking up at 7 a.m. and returning home as late as 1 a.m.
His show was as much about the painting as it was the one-liners: “These are the highlights—you can tell because they’re high up on the painting,” he might say. Audiences gobbled up the jokes and the works, often paying less than $50 for a painting. “I give them a fresh painting like a fresh bagel,” he said.
Photographer David M. Spindel first met Katz on assignment. “They’d call him mashugana—that’s the Yiddish word for a little bit crazy,” he told Artsy. The pair soon became friends, and Spindel ended up attending several of the artist’s hotel shows.
“There were a lot of people from the hotel who were sitting in the room and he set up his easel and his toilet paper and paints and knocked out paintings one after another,” Spindel said. “Just a couple of minutes for each painting, usually. If he was kibitzing with the people in the audience then it took a lot longer. He was always clowning around.”
His act was ready-made for television; he appeared on 60 Minutes, David Letterman, and Oprah, among other programs. And Katz didn’t just make instant art—he taught it as well. In 1987, the New Yorker sent a writer to attend one of his speed-painting classes at the Notre Dame School on West 79th Street. A dozen eager students watched in admiration as he whipped up a mountain landscape, asking for advice on how, exactly, to hold their toilet paper for maximum artistic effect. For those who couldn’t make it to Manhattan for a lesson, he published a book—Paint Good & Fast (1985)—with a title as straightforward as his philosophy on art.
“Life goes faster and faster,” he wrote. “The fine arts must keep pace. This art will one day be viewed as prophetic.”
As Katz saw it, his was the true contemporary art: “fast, democratic and to the point.”
More han 100 museums around the globe own and have exhibited his art, including the Smithsonian which has three of his paintings on display.
- Creator:Morris Katz (1932-2010, Polish)
- Creation Year:1978
- Dimensions:Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 31.75 in (80.65 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:
Morris Katz
Morris Katz (born Moshe Katz on March 5, 1932 in Galicia, Poland, died November 12, 2010 at age 78 in The Bronx, New York) was a Jewish-American painter. He holds two Guinness World Records as the world's fastest painter and the world's most prolific artist. He has also been called the "King of Schlock Art" and the "King of Toilet Paper Art" because of a novel means of painting he developed using a palette knife and toilet tissue instead of a paintbrush. Katz was born in 1932 in Galicia, Poland. At age 13 he studied under Dr. Hans Fokler of the Munich Academy. After World War II, he lived for a while in a displaced persons camp, where he earned a diploma in carpentry, and he has since said that toilet paper is his "diploma in art." He moved to the United States in 1949, when he took a job in carpentry while maintaining a sideline with his art. While working on his unpublished Dictionary of Color in 1956, he decided to try painting with his palette knife instead of his brushes. After some time he also began experimenting with the use of rags; when he ran out of rags he turned to toilet tissue. As of February 2007, over his career he had painted more than 280,000 paintings. Over his long career, he has established himself as a painter, comedian, and television personality. Katz describes his method as "Instant Art," as he has completed entire paintings in as little as 30 seconds. In a 1987 event to benefit the Boy Scouts of America, Katz completed 103 paintings (selling 55 of them on the spot) in 12 hours. He is listed as a human oddity in Ripley's Believe It Or Not because of his ability to paint full works of art in less than five minutes.
About the Seller
5.0
Platinum Seller
These expertly vetted sellers are 1stDibs' most experienced sellers and are rated highest by our customers.
Established in 1999
1stDibs seller since 2017
686 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 1 hour
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: San Francisco, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Convict Lake, High SierraBy Earl Graham DouglasLocated in San Francisco, CAThis artwork titled "Convict Lake, High Sierra" c.1920 is an oil painting on canvas by noted California artist Earl Graham Douglas, 1879-1954. It i...Category
Early 20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Cottonwood SpringLocated in San Francisco, CAThis artwork titled "Cottonwood Spring" c.1975 is an oil painting on hardboard by noted New Mexico artist Patricia Rose, 1934-2008 It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The artwork size is 22 x 28 inches, framed is 30 x 36 inches. Framed in original wooden beige and gold frame. It is in very good condition. About the artist. Patricia Rose 1934-2008 was a noted New Mexico landscape artist being a multi-winner in many competitions receiving several awards from the New Mexico State Fine Arts Competition including the Governor's Award. She has won the State Purchase Award four times. One of her works was presented to Mrs. Barbara Bush...Category
Late 20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Sheep Ranch, Mother Lodge County, Near StocktonBy William FratesLocated in San Francisco, CAThis artwork titled "Sheep Ranch, Mother Lodge County, Near Stockton" is an oil painting on canvas by noted California artist William E. Frates, 1891-969 It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The canvas size is 24 x 30 inches, framed is 30.75 x 36.5 inches. Framed in original grey rustic wood frame. It is in very good condition. About the artist: Painter, etcher. Born in Hayward, CA in 1896. Frates first studied art in San Francisco with Wm Otto...Category
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
- The Abandoned FactoryBy William FratesLocated in San Francisco, CAThis artwork titled "The Abandoned Factory" c.1945 is an oil painting on canvas by noted California artist William E. Frates, 1891-969 It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The canvas size is 24 x 30 inches, framed is 40.75 x 34.5 inches. Custom framed in a wooden gold brownish frame, with fabric liner. This particular artwork has been exhibited at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco, August to April 1946. About the artist: Painter, etcher. Born in Hayward, CA in 1896. Frates first studied art in San Francisco with Wm Otto...Category
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Landscape, CaliforniaLocated in San Francisco, CAThis artwork "Landscape, California" c. 1935 is an oil painting on canvas by noted California artist Elmer Stanhope, 1907-1956. It is signed at the lowe...Category
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Landscape with Farm, CaliforniaBy Clifford HolmesLocated in San Francisco, CAThis artwork "Landscape with Farm, California" c.1950 is an oil painting on canvas by noted California artist Clifford Holmes 1876-1963. It is signed a...Category
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
You May Also Like
- Union Square, Winter (Washington Monument)By Theodore RobinsonLocated in New York, NYAs one of the first, and most important, American Impressionists, Theodore Robinson helped to introduce the French style to American artists and audiences.Category
19th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
- At the ClotheslineBy Irving Ramsey WilesLocated in New York, NYSigned lower right: Irving R. WilesCategory
Late 19th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Miner Hillard Milling CompanyBy George William SotterLocated in New York, NYSigned lower right: G.W. Sotter; on verso: MINER HILLARD / MILLING Co.Category
Mid-20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil, Board
- "Alley Fiends"By John R. GrabachLocated in Lambertville, NJJim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork by: John R. Grabach (1886 - 1981) John Grabach was a highly regarded New Jersey artist, teacher, and author of the classic text...Category
1930s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- "Forest Strongholds"By John F. CarlsonLocated in Lambertville, NJSigned lower right. Complemented by a hand carved and gilt frame. Exhibited at the National Academy of Design, 1928Category
20th Century American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- "Solebury Valley"By William Langson LathropLocated in Lambertville, NJSigned lower right. Complemented by a period frame. William L. Lathrop (1859-1938) Deemed “Father of the New Hope Art Colony”, William Langson Lathrop was born in Warren, Illinois. He was largely self-taught, having only studied briefly with William Merritt Chase in 1887, at the Art Students League. Lathrop first moved east in the early 1880s, and took a job at the Photoengraving Company in New York City. While there, he befriended a fellow employee, Henry B. Snell. The two men became lifelong friends and ultimately, both would be considered central figures among the New Hope Art Colony. Lathrop's early years as an artist were ones of continuing struggle. His efforts to break through in the New York art scene seemed futile, so he scraped enough money together to travel to Europe with Henry Snell in1888. There he met and married an English girl, Annie Burt. Upon returning to New York, he tried his hand at etching, making tools from old saw blades...Category
1910s American Impressionist Landscape Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
Recently Viewed
View AllMore Ways To Browse
Gold People
Pair Of Landscapes
Landscape Art Pair
Little People
Knock Out
12x16 Landscapes
Landscape Painting Pair
Fishing Signs
Pair Of Landscape Paintings
Landscape Painter David
Fishing Vintage Fishing
Polish Artist Landscape
Vintage Fishing Art
Painting Of Polish Landscape
Morris Oil
Vintage Fishing Painting
German Mountain Landscape
Vintage Wooden People