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July Issue 2007
Elder Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Offers Works by Leandro Manzo, Leon A. Makielski and Ernest Walker
Elder Gallery in Charlotte, NC, is presenting a diverse exhibition of paintings created by three artists, on view through July 31, 2007. The works of Los Angeles artist, Leandro Manzo, will be paired with selected paintings from the collections of Leon A. Makielski and Ernest Walker.
Leandro Manzo was born in Rio Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina, in 1969 and is a fourth generation artist. His talent was recognized at a very young age and a public exhibition of his work was held when he was thirteen years old at the Museum of Art in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Manzo studied drawing and painting with renowned artist Martinez Howard who had studied with Lino Spilimbergo and the great Hungarian artist Lajo Szalay. His paintings are included in several International public and private collections in Argentina, Sao Paulo, Amsterdam, Barcelona, London, Madrid, Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Mexico City, and Toronto.
In the United States his work is included in collections in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City and Charlotte.
Leon Makielski was born in Morris Run, PA, in 1885, the third of eleven children of Polish immigrant parents. He studied and taught at the Art Institute of Chicago and spent his summer months at the Eagle's Nest Camp, situated west of Chicago in Oregon, IL. Eagle's Nest was the most important summer art center in Illinois and attracted notable sculptors, painters and writers.
Makielski was awarded the Art Institute's Traveling Scholarship in 1908 for four consecutive years to study in Paris. While in Paris he enrolled at the Academie Julian and the Grande Chaumiere, studied with Henri Martin and Richard E. Miller, and was selected to exhibit his work at the Paris Salons of 1911 and 1912.
Makielski spent his spare time painting in the city's parks, on the Seine, and in the countryside around Paris, especially Giverny and Versailles. He also visited Italy, England, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Holland, and Austria and painted towns, cities, and landscapes along the way.
Upon returning to the United States Makielski taught fine arts at the University of Michigan from 1915 through 1927. He later taught drawing and painting at the Meinsinger Art School in Detroit and portraiture to fellow members of the Scarab Club.
Makielski is listed with the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, and was included in William Gerdts' book, Monet's Giverny: An Impressionist Colony (New York: Abbeville, 1993), p. 218, 260. He died in Michigan in 1974.
Ernest Walker was born in Rochdale, England, in 1892 where he demonstrated great promise as a young artist. He won a scholarship to Sheffield School of Art in 1908 and subsequently a full scholarship to Manchester Municipal School of Art in 1909. During his studies he was awarded the coveted King's Prize for Design.
In 1913, Walker moved to the United States and attended the Art Student's League in New York City. He worked as a freelance artist and, after serving in the United States Army, returned to England, married and painted throughout Great Britain for a number of years. In 1930, Walker returned to Long Island and became a freelance artist and contributed to Fortune, Woman's Home Companion, McCall's, Country Life and Pictorial Review.
In 1935, the artist was commissioned by House & Garden to paint interiors of manor homes in England. A number of his paintings were shown on the cover of the magazine. The artist was invited to exhibit his work at the Chicago Art Institute in 1938 and at the Philadelphia Museum of Art Watercolor Exhibition in 1939. He was included in The Whitney Museum of Art's Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Art of 1941.
During the 1940s and 1950s Walker continued painting for House & Garden, Lord and Taylor, Abraham & Strauss, General Electric and others. He illustrated a number of books for Harper Brothers Publishing and MacMillan Publishing.
Walker died in South Carolina in 1991 at the age of ninety-nine. Elder Gallery is the exclusive representative for the Walker Collection.
For more info check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 704/370-6337 or at (www.elderart.com).
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