HUGE c. 1955 John Brock Lear Jr. Surrealist Buff Male Portrait Gay LGBTQ

This listing is for the large original painting “Becalmed” by John Brock Lear Jr. (1910-2008) pictured above. About this work
:
An important, monumental work by John Brock Lear, Jr. (American, 1910-2008).
This exceptional work depicts a partially-clothed buff blonde figure in a dystopian surrealist environment. The man stands in a desert setting surrounded by tattered cloth draped over wood. He stands barefoot in the sand with rocks and wire at his feet.
The work is oil on canvas and is housed in its original gilt wood frame. It retains its original label from the little studio in Manhattan, which was a short-lived gallery active in the 1950s.
Lear’s surrealistic depictions of men are his most sought after works. This is among the largest and earliest paintings of a male figure by Lear that one can acquire. The market for Lear’s work has increased significantly over the past couple of years as interest in/awareness of his work continues to climb. Size
:
47 inches tall by 28.25 inches wide (painting)
50.5 inches tall by 31.25 inches wide (frame) Provenance
:
The Little Studio, NYC;
Unknown;
Private collection, Los Angeles, CA;
(acquired from the above) Private collection, Los Angeles, CA;
Acquired from the above About the artist
:
A 1928 graduate of the Chestnut Hill Academy, John Brock Lear Jr. studied illustration under Thornton Oakley at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Arts, forerunner of the University of the Arts, graduating in 1932.
Lear taught illustration at Rosemont College from 1955 to 1963, at the Hussian School of Art in Society Hill in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as at the Philadelphia College of Art. From 1963 to 1975, he was the art director at the Presbyterian Board of Christian Education.
Lear's art might have saved him from harm's way during World War II. A niece, Susan MacBride, recalled that when he was assigned to Fort Riley, Kansas, "the generals and the officers found out he was an artist [and] diverted his talents to doing portraits of the officers and their families." Later, she said, he was assigned to illustrate military manuals, booklets and charts for service-wide distribution.
Though he was not sent overseas during World War II, MacBride said, the surreal aspects of his art were influenced by "his horror at the destruction of life and the beauty of the world."
Lear was a member or associate of the American Watercolor Society, the Philadelphia Art Alliance, the Philadelphia Watercolor Club, the Philadelphia Sketch Club, the Art Teachers Association and the Woodmere Art Museum.
His work is in the permanent collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Florida Gulf Coast Art Center in Clearwater, the Reading Museum, and the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill. Condition
: Untouched condition with surface grime and accretions. No apparent restoration (some pigments naturally fluoresce under blacklight). Scattered pinpoint paint losses. Light surface abrasions upper right quadrant. A good candidate for a surface cleaning and small touch ups. Original frame with typical wear and losses.
This work will be carefully packed and shipped with insurance and signature confirmation. Free local pick up is also available. International buyers - please note I cannot lower the declared value of the package for customs.
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