1927 - 2020
Kahn had some private art instruction as a child in Frankfort. He arrived in America in 1940, and in New York in 1943, where he attended the High School of Music and Art for two years. After about a year of service in the United States Navy, he returned to New York and began his artistic studies in classes given by Stuart Davis and Hans Jelinek at the New School for Social Research. However, it was his study with Hans Hofmann in New York and in Provincetown, Massachusetts, between 1947 and 1949 that was the more influential. Kahn then attended the University of Chicago, receiving his bachelor's degree in 1951.
Back in New York the following year, he established his studio, and began to exhibit his paintings, initially with the cooperative Hansa Gallery of which he was a participant founder. The first of a long series of one-man exhibitions presented by the Grace Borgenicht Gallery occurred in 1956. In 1957, Kahn was included in the exhibition New York School--The Second Generation, organized by the Jewish Museum, New York.
From 1955, a year passed living and working in Mexico, to 1968, when he acquired a farm in West Brattleboro, Vermont, Kahn frequently made temporary residences elsewhere than New York: he lived in Venice, 1957-58; was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, 1960; with a Fulbright award, lived in Milan and Rome, 1963-64. Summers in this period were spent in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, or Deer Isle, Maine.
For the past twenty years his time has been more consistently divided between New York and Vermont, which is a major source of his highly simplified landscapes composed in terms of brilliant color.
Kahn's paintings have been widely shown in one-man exhibitions organized by museums and commercial galleries throughout the country, including the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York; the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia; the San Diego (California) Museum of Art; the Meredith Long Gallery, Houston, Texas; and the Thomas Segal Gallery, Boston. Among his honors are a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, 1966; American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters award, 1979, and membership in the Institute, 1984. In Academy annual exhibitions his paintings have received a Shatalov award, 1985; Saltus Medal, 1986; and Carnegie prize, 1989. Kahn has served on the Academy Council since 1982, initially a three-year term as a member, becoming assistant corresponding secretary in 1985, and treasurer in 1989.
Back in New York the following year, he established his studio, and began to exhibit his paintings, initially with the cooperative Hansa Gallery of which he was a participant founder. The first of a long series of one-man exhibitions presented by the Grace Borgenicht Gallery occurred in 1956. In 1957, Kahn was included in the exhibition New York School--The Second Generation, organized by the Jewish Museum, New York.
From 1955, a year passed living and working in Mexico, to 1968, when he acquired a farm in West Brattleboro, Vermont, Kahn frequently made temporary residences elsewhere than New York: he lived in Venice, 1957-58; was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, 1960; with a Fulbright award, lived in Milan and Rome, 1963-64. Summers in this period were spent in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, or Deer Isle, Maine.
For the past twenty years his time has been more consistently divided between New York and Vermont, which is a major source of his highly simplified landscapes composed in terms of brilliant color.
Kahn's paintings have been widely shown in one-man exhibitions organized by museums and commercial galleries throughout the country, including the Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, New York; the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, Virginia; the San Diego (California) Museum of Art; the Meredith Long Gallery, Houston, Texas; and the Thomas Segal Gallery, Boston. Among his honors are a Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, 1966; American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters award, 1979, and membership in the Institute, 1984. In Academy annual exhibitions his paintings have received a Shatalov award, 1985; Saltus Medal, 1986; and Carnegie prize, 1989. Kahn has served on the Academy Council since 1982, initially a three-year term as a member, becoming assistant corresponding secretary in 1985, and treasurer in 1989.
