Leon Kroll at the Edge of Modernism

Although Abraham Leon Kroll (1884-1974) studied art in Paris when Cubism was about to burst on the scene and many other art isms were in place, he never delved very far into modernism. Art gallery biographical notes are here, here and here (the Wikipedia entry is skimpy).

If Kroll was never much of a modernist, his work is clearly not in the traditional vein either. Generally speaking, he tended to simplify his subjects to the point where viewers would see that this was a stylistic intent. To this degree he was a modernist. I discuss in detail the problems artists of his generation faced in my e-book "Art Adrift."

Kroll's style varied somewhat over his career, so it can be a little hard to spot his work aside from paintings of nudes in urban settings (see the photo at the bottom).

Gallery

Eastern Point Lighthouse, Gloucester - 1912

Queensborough Bridge - 1912

Broadway and 42nd Street - 1916

Central Park scene

Manhattan Rythms

Santa Fe Hills - 1917

Four Maids Combing Their Hair - 1919

Dorshka - 1929

Woman in red beret

Kroll working on the painting "Summer, New York"