Emlen Etting Art

Oil on canvas, signed in the upper left and titled on reverse. Emlen Pope Etting Jr. (August 24, 1905 – July 20, 1993) was an American painter, sculptor, filmmaker, and member of Ph...

Beautiful abstract expressionist composition by American artist, Emlen Etting (1905-1993). Mixed media on artist board, 16 x 20 inches; 26 x 30 inches in mid-century chestnut frame of the period. Signed lower right. Artwork is in excellent condition. Frame is slightly distressed with minor flaking. Emlen Etting was a painter, sculptor, filmmaker, and member of Philadelphia’s elite Main Line Society. He attended schools in Lausanne, Switzerland, and St. George’s in Newport, Rhode Island. After graduating from Harvard in 1928, he studied with the artist Andre Lhote in Paris. During World War II, Etting served in the psychological warfare division of the Office of War Information. He was present at the liberation of Paris and he collaborated with Orson Welles to record the event. Emlen Pope Etting Jr. was born to Florence Lucas Etting and Emlen Pope Etting Sr., a failed stockbroker, in 1905. Both Emlen’s mother and aunt were proud members of Philadelphia’s Main Line society. An earlier son was born to the Ettings on August 15, 1903, and given the name Emlen Pope Etting Jr. The child died just three days prior to his first birthday, on August 18, 1904. The following August 24, 1905, Florence gave birth to her second son and, once again, gave him the name of Emlen Pope Etting Jr. Young Emlen’s father died of a heart attack when the baby was only two months old, on October 23, 1905. Florence Etting died on April 13, 1951. Both his parents and the first Emlen Jr. are buried in West Laurel Hill...