37: JOSEPH MEERT (1905-1990) OIL ON CANVAS

Joseph John Paul Meert (Kansas, 1905-1990)
(Circa 1946)
Signed lower right and the artist's estate stamp verso.

Joseph Meert was an artist of the Kansas City School of American Art more closely associated than, say, Joseph Vorst, also represented in this auction. In the 1993 exhibition catalog for Under The Influence: The Students of Thomas Hart Benton at the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, Missouri by Mariane Berardi, describes Joe Meert as, 'A reticent man, dreamer, who painted beautiful pictures with a poetic brush.' and says that he was .'generally acknowledged to be (one of) Benton's favorite pupils at the Art Student League.' in New York City.


In 1935, Meert, 'followed Benton to the Kansas City Art Institute where he served as Benton's assistant in the painting department. During his tenure at the Art Institute, Meert produced Post Office murals under the patronage of the WPA in Marceline and Mount Vernon, Missouri and in Spencer, Indiana.' He produced many important works in the Regionalist style of the 1930s. Compositions stylistically, geographically and thematically aligned with the Kansas City School.

Around 1946, Joseph Meert and his wife, Margaret Mullin, whom he met at KCAI, founded a group of artists dedicated to abstract art. This painting likely dates to that basic time period.
Canvas measures 16 x 14 with a framed size of 21 x 19 inches.
Very good untouched condition. There are no issues of scratches, losses, repairs, in-painting or touch-up to any degree.
Provenance: Private collection, Kansas City, Missouri.
$400 - $600