Pair of gouache modernist portrait paintings by Mary Cane Robinson (American, 1910-2003) of two bold faced women in scalloped, polka dot hats. Robinson was a noted New York then Los Angeles then Denver modernist artist. Each painting in frame measures 17.25" x 13.25". Custom wood, lacquered frames are new. Artwork is in good, vintage condition.
Born in New York City, she showed an early aptitude for art which was encouraged by her mother Florence Naumberg Cane, a noted painter and art educator. She went on to study with her mother and in 1928 went to Munich, studying for over a year with the famous abstract artist Hans Hoffmann. Returning to New York, the young Mary Cane furthered her education at Pratt Institute under Jean Charlot.
Her exhibition career began as an adolescent, showing in New York with the Salons of America in 1926, a venue she would return to in 1930 and 1931. In 1935 she was invited to display works with the Society of Independent Artists. While still in New York, Mary Cane taught at the Dalton School as well as The Hessian Hills School in Croton-on-Hudson. The artist then spent several years in Los Angeles during the late 1930's, exhibiting in San Francisco at its Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939.
She married Dr. Arthur Robinson in 1941 and they moved to Denver in 1947. Resuming her studies, Mary worked with Connie Smith Siegel, Wilbert Verhelst and Roland Detre, her future brother-in-law. In the 1950's she taught at the Denver Art Museum and the Graland School.
She exhibited widely from the 1950's through the 1970's in her adopted state at such venues as the Denver Art Museum, the Jewish Community Center, the Gilpin County Arts Association and the Boulder Center for the Visual Arts (now the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art) as well as shows in Los Angeles and San Antonio. During the 1960's, Robinson's work would be showcased in Denver at the Mizel Museum of Judaica as well as at the Elizabeth Schlosser Gallery in Cherry Creek.
Works by Mary Cane Robinson are to be found in the permanent collections of the Kirkland Museum of Fine and Decorative Art and the Denver Public Library. In addition, a chapter is devoted to her in the book "Modern Art in Denver" by Elizabeth Schlosser.
