biography of Morris KANTOR (1896-1974)

Birth place: Minsk, Russia

Death place: Nyack, NY

Addresses: Came to NYC in 1906, remaining there for most of his career

Profession: Painter, teacher

Studied: Independent Sch. Art, NYC, with Homer Boss, c. 1916

Exhibited: S. Indp. A., 1918-26, 1928-37; AIC, 1929-30, 1931 (med.), 1932-45; Salons of Am., 1929-30; PAFA Ann., 1929-66, frequently (gold 1940); CI, 1929-50; WMAA, 1932-52; Corcoran Gal. biennials, 1930-59 (Third Clark Prize, 1939); Univ. Illinois, 1951 (purchase prize); Int. Biennial Exhib. Prints, Tokyo, Japan, 1962; Smithsonian Inst., & White House, Wash., 1966; Univ. New Mexico Traveling Exhib., 1967; Nat. Collection Fine Arts, 1968; Bertha Schaefer Gals., NYC, 1970s

Member: S. Indp. A.; Am. Soc. PSG; Fed. Modern P. & S.

Work: PAFA; WMAA; MMA; MoMA; Carnegie Inst.; Newark Mus, NJ; AIC; Detroit Inst. A.; PMG; Denver A. Mus.; Univ. Nebraska; Univ. Arizona; Wilmington Soc. FA.

Comments: Explored Futurism and Cubism early in his career. In 1928, after returning to NYC from a year in Paris, Kantor developed a style in which he combined realism with fantasy, often taking the streets of New York as his subject matter. By 1940, he was focusing on figural studies. Kantor painted in Provincetown, MA, in 1932, and on Monhegan Island, ME. Teaching: ASL, 1934-on; Cooper-Hewitt, NYC; Univ. Michigan, 1958, Michigan State Univ., 1960; Univ. Colorado, 1962; Univ. Illinois, 1963; Univ. Minnesota, Duluth, 1963; Univ. New Mexico, 1964.

Sources: WW73; WW47; Baigell, Dictionary; Curtis, Curtis, and Lieberman, 115, 184; Provincetown Painters, 190; Falk, Exh. Record Series.