TitlePorcelain Cats
Artist
Aaron Shikler
(1922 - 2015)
Date1957
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsUnframed: 38 1/4 × 28 in.
Framed: 45 1/8 × 35 1/4 × 3 1/2 in.
SignedSigned on lower left: "Shikler '57"
SubmissionNA diploma presentation, May 3, 1965
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number1661-P
Label TextBorn in Brooklyn, New York, Aaron Shikler received a broad range of training that included traditional academic study as well as exposure to much less conventional art education pedagogies. After interruption of his studies during World War II when he served as a private in the Army for three years, Shikler earned his BFA and MFA from Temple University's Tyler School of Art, also attending classes at the Barnes Foundation and the Hans Hoffman School of Art. After school Shikler moved to New York and worked briefly as a commercial illustrator. His facility in rendering the figure did not escape notice however, and he was soon working for Portraits Inc., a commercial gallery specializing in portraiture. By the late 1950s Shikler had established himself as a prominent New York figure painter and portraitist.Shikler is best known for his portraits of prominent cultural and political figures. He has rendered the official portraits of numerous American presidents and their wives as well as such cultural figures as Diana Ross, Giorgio Armani, Gloria Vaderbilt, Barbara Walters, and many others. "Porcelain Cats" is from a group of several portraits of antique dealers the artist painted in the late 1950s. This particular painting is less formal than some of Shikler's other portraits and shows the antique dealer Maurice Van Guens in his shop surrounded by his inventory. The antique dealer had a shop at 65th Street and 3rd Avenue and specialized in porcelain cats. Shikler took a series of photographs on the interior and completed the painting in his studio. The title refers to the porcelain cats that Van Guens had an affinity for, one of which he appears to be contemplating.
