Watercolors by Paul Burlin, November 6-December 5, 1954

Paul Burlin was an American modern and abstract expressionist painter born Isadore Berlin September 10, 1886 in New York City. He grew up in both New York City and London, England. He disliked the name Isadore and stopped using it when he left home at 16, changing his name to Harry Paul Burlin. By 1911, Harry had become H. and by 1915 it was gone altogether. From 1900 to 1912, Burlin was a part-time student at the National Academy of Art and the Art Students League. He traveled through Europe in 1908 and 1909. He was one of the first artists to visit the southwest United States in 1910 and lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico for eight years. The paintings he made in Santa Fe were shown in New York in 1911. The critical acclaim of this exhibition led to his invitation to participate in the infamous 1913 Armory Show. His work was also shown at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts exhibition in 1919.

He met Natalie Curtis in 1914 and they married in 1917. Together they moved to Paris, France in 1921, but Natalie died unexpectedly shortly thereafter. He remained in France and remarried in 1924 to Margarete (Margot) Koop. They had one child together. He exhibited in New York and Paris. He studied European abstract painting styles, which influenced his increasingly socially concerned themes. His work was included in the New York Museum of Modern Art's Ninth Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture by Living Americans in 1930. In 1932, the Burlin family moved back to the United States, settling in New York, where Paul lived for the rest of his life. He worked as a member of the Federal Project of the Whitney Museum and was among those who signed the call for the American Artist's Congress in 1936. In 1936, Paul and Margarete divorced. Paul married Helen Simonson in 1937. Burlin used images from Greek mythology to paint commentary against the brutality of war. He was especially concerned with Jewish persecution. He then exhibited in the 1944 Art in Progress show. He soon began to use abstract expressionism as a mode for personal expression. Burlin divorced his third wife in 1946 and married Margaret (Peggy) Timmerman in 1947. He and Margaret remained together for the rest of his life. Burlin was later invited to be Artist in Residence at many universities and museums across the United States. In the 1950s, Burlin began to lose his sight. His despair at losing his sight was often a theme in his work. He painted, even at the times when he was declared legally blind. He died March 13, 1969 in New York City.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Burlin