Maurice Golubov (American 1905-1987)

"Frieze" modern figures, watercolor on paper, 2 x 8 in., signed, Gallery Mayer Baltimore Museum Exhibition label on verso. Provenance: New Jersey Estate.Bio: Maurice Golubov first studied art as a teenager during evening classes with John Sloan at a Hebrew Educational Society settlement house.(1) At age fifteen Golubov dropped out of school and apprenticed himself to a fashion studio where he copied figure illustrations. A chance encounter with Mark Tobey, who also worked as a fashion illustrator, introduced Golubov to the National Academy of Design. There, Golubov spent week nights for four years studying with Ivan Olinsky, Charles Curran, and George L. Nelson. In 1922, his mastery of the academic regime was recognized when he received the Suydam Silver Medal for excellence in life drawing.Golubov experienced a very difficult childhood. His father immigrated to the United States after his precarious shoemaking business failed. As World War I approached in Russia, his mother decided to leave with her six children. Golubov became separated from the rest of the family, and roamed for several months with a band of children who survived by raiding small farms. Golubov was eventually reunited with the family in Petrograd. The family finally made its way to New York. For this and other information about Golubov's life and career, see Daniel J. Cameron, ed., Maurice Golubov, Paintings 1925Ð1980 (Charlotte, N.C.: Mint Museum Department of Art, 1980)Golubov met Moses Soyer, Ad Reinhardt, Saul and Eugenie Baizerman, William Zorach, and others. Although Golubov has frequently been described as an isolated figure, he was friendly with a number of other artists,including Lee Gatch, Reginald Marsh, Louis Lozowick, Jackson Pollock, Hans Hofmann, Theodore Stamos, Theodore Roszak, and others.