11: WERNER WILDNER (1925-2004) EXHIBITED SURREALIST OIL

Werner Wildner (1925-2004)
Fallen Angel (1959)
The surrealist image of a strange humanoid figure in barren landscape painted with Wildner's high degree of technical skill is signed lower right front.

Labels and an ink stamp verso link this work to the artist's important 1962 breakout exhibition in Nashville, Tennessee.

Werner Wildner was a German-born Nashville, Tennessee artist best known for his fantastical and often surreal imagery. After immigrating to the U.S. as a child, he studied briefly at the Meinzinger Art School in Detroit before establishing himself as a commercial illustrator and later as a fine artist. His first breakthrough came with a 1962 solo exhibition at Cheekwood Museum of Art in Nashville. At the time it opened, the Cheekwood was known as Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, which is stamped on the frame of this painting with the address of Nashville 5, Tennessee. The stamp's origin (and thus the painting's connection with Cheekwood) place this work in the period before ZIP Codes were implemented in 1963 Before '63 postal zone numbers were in use. The designation for Nashville, was Nashville 5. This aligns with Werner Wildner's important first exhibition in 1962.
Board measures 15.5 x 11.75 with a framed size of 19H x 15.5W inches.
Very good condition. There are no issues of major scratches, losses, repairs, in-painting or touch-up.
Provenance: Large and varied collection, North Kansas City, Missouri.
$1,500 - $2,000