Nikolaus Niko Braun (Miklos Bela) was a German/Hungarian artist and sculptor who was born in 1900. In 1920 he became a student of Arthur Segal at his painting studio in Berlin. Mr. Segal and Mr. Braun were members of the Novembergruppe (November Group) and the studio of Mr. Segal was a regular meeting place for artists, Adolf Behne, Raoul Hausmann, Hannah Hoch, Kurt Schwitters and George Grosz. Mr. Braun exhibited with the November Group from 1923 on. Both Mr. Segal and Mr. Braun were also associated with Der Sturm and the December Gallery. In 1924, Mr. Braun participated in the First German Art Exhibition in Moscow. In 1925 Mr. Braun and Mr. Segal published a treatise entitled, "Lichtprobleme der Bildenden Kunst" (On the Problem of Light in the Fine Arts). This volume was an exploration of the meaning of light and form in their work. This book is extremely rare and only four copies are known to be in libraries worldwide. Both teacher and student were strongly influenced by Viking Eggeling's early film experiments. In 1924, Braun and Segal, along with Moholy-Nagy, Laszlo Peri, Erno Kallai and Alfred Kemeny were in attendance at Mr. Eggeling's presentation of Diagonal Symphony. In 1938, Braun emigrated to Budapest and later, in 1949, he moved to the United States. Mr. Braun died in New York in 1950.
Enrique Castro-Cid was a Chilean artist and sculptor who was born in 1938. Mr. Castro-Cid studied art in Chile until 1960. It was at this time when the Organization of American States awarded him a grant to study art in the United States. The William Copley award and two Guggenheim fellowships (in 1964 and 1965) can also be counted among Mr. Castro-Cid's awards. Mr. Castro-Cid was a pioneer in the field of computer aided design as it pertained to art and painting. In 1966 Castro-Cid was featured in an article in Time magazine titled, "The motion is haphazard, The situation unpredictable". This article explores his view of art, his work and his exhibitions. In it he is quoted, "My paintings grew to be surrealist abstractions with the hint of skeletal joints expressing patterns of growth". In the 1960's, Mr. Castro-Cid was married to supermodel and Harper's Bazaar cover model Sylvia and the couple came to New York among a flurry of accolades and reviews. While in Manhattan, Castro-Cid was exhibited at the Richard Feigen Gallery. He later met and married Christophe de Menil. Castro-Cid was friends with fellow artists Willem de Kooning, James Rosenquist, William Copley and George Plimpton. Mr. Castro-Cid died in Chile in 1992.
Lafer is a Brasilian furniture company that was begun in 1927 by Benjamin Lafer. The Lafer company has become synonymous with high design. A traditional furniture company, Mr. Lafer built the reputation on quality and excellent customer service. In 1961, the company entered into it's second generation. The company expanded from the traditional jacaranda (rosewood) into fiberglass products. In the 1970's, the fiberglass Lafer telephone booth was everywhere in Brasil. Later, in 1974, Percival Lafer began the MP Lafer car company, it was a design inspired by the British MG with a Volkswagon chassis. An MP Lafer was featured in the James Bond movie, Moonraker.
Robert Loughlin is an American artist who was born in 1949. Mr. Loughlin is best known for his portrait that paints. This is the portrait of his partner of 20 years, Gary Carlson. As with another famous artist, Keith Haring, Mr. Loughlin's art also began on the streets and walls of the city that has made him famous. New York was his canvas and he covered the city with his now iconic portrait. Nowadays, Mr. Loughlin's work adorns canvases, mid-Century furniture and just about anything else he can get his brush or marker onto. In addition to being an artist, Mr. Loughlin is also a dealer in mid-Century designer furniture and furnishings. Both Loughlin and Carlson are well known in the New York area, and have been fixtures on the art scene since they came here from Miami with a collection of Deco furniture. They sold the collection to Andy Warhol and quickly developed a relationship with Mr. Warhol.
Stephen Pace is an American artist who was born in 1918 in Deventer, Missouri. In his childhood, the family moved to Indiana to operate a grocery store and later a farm. Beginning in 1935, Mr. Pace began art studies with Robert Lahr who guided Pace in his understanding of drawing and watercolor techniques. Pace was called into service for World War II. During his service, he often painted and sketched at any free moment. With the close of the War and return to The States, Pace chose to study art at the Institute of Fine Arts in San Miguel Allende on the GI Bill. After his year abroad, Pace was on a bus en route to Indiana. Stopping at a bus station in New Orleans, Pace knew he had a choice to make. "I knew if I went back to the Midwest, they'd put me to work on the farm. So I flipped a coin, heads New York, tails San Francisco". New York was to be Pace's destiny. He studied at the Art Students League in 1948 & 1949, left for Florence in 1950 and then onto the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere in 1951. New York, however, was to become his muse. Upon his return, he was enveloped into the Abstract Expressionist School. He exhibited at several of the Whitney annuals and at the artist run exhibitions of Stable Gallery. He became a regular at some of New York's famous artist taverns and also counted Franz Kline among his friends.
Wheeler Williams was an American artist who was born in 1897 in Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 22, Mr. Williams graduated Magna cum Laude from Yale University and later earned a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard University in 1922. His art studies were to continue at the Art Institute of Chicago with sculptor Albin Polasek and also at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Mr. Williams was a founder and president of the American Artist Professional League. Adding to this position, Mr. Williams was also a member of the National Academy, a president of the Fine Arts Federation of New York and a longtime president of the National Sculpture Society. Mr. Williams political ideals were quite conservative and he was quite active in his beliefs. He was a supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy and even protested when Senator McCarthy was censured. Mr. Williams died in 1972.
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