Lot 38007: PAUL KELPE (American, 1902-2002) Untitled, 1930

PAUL KELPE (American, 1902-2002) Untitled, 1930 Watercolor and ink on paper 6 x 5 inches (15.2 x 12.7 cm) widow Signed and dated lower left: Paul Kelpe / 1930 PROVENANCE: David Dike Fine Art, Dallas (label verso). Paul Kelpe painted in an abstract manner that was based on Constructivism, Cubism, and geometric abstraction. He studied art in Hanover, Germany, and was influenced by the work of modernist artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, El Lissitsky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Naum Gabo, and Kurt Schwitters. Kelpe developed a style of carefully applied paint, devoid of visible brush strokes, within geometric forms. This small watercolor is characteristic of his works on paper. Kelpe is a nationally acclaimed artist who immigrated to the United States in 1925 and spent several years in New Jersey and New York City. In the early 1930s, he settled in Chicago where he was a WPA (Works Progress Administration) muralist. Kelpe returned to New York City in the 1940s and 1950s, then moved in 1969 to Austin, Texas, where he taught at East Texas Teachers College.