Rather
than conform to the mid-20th century trend toward
abstraction, Joyce Treiman embraced her more
academic drawing skills and worked in what she
referred to as the “lonely arena” of
figurative painting. Her work reflects the influences
of some of the great artists of the past, including
Tiepolo, Thomas Eakins and Claude Monet. Near
the end of her career, even before she was diagnosed
with lung cancer, she summoned the breadth of
her traditional skills to produce monumental
paintings like this four panel work, which is
filled with themes of an impending mortality
and laced with her own dry humor. Treiman uses
vigorous, expressive brushwork to inject emotional
force into this deeply felt and highly personal
work.
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