Candell, Victor (1903-1977)

Born in Budapest, Hungary, Candell described in an interview how, as a boy, he was attracted to movie posters; by age 15 he already was a professional graphic artist, branching out to illustrations and caricatures in theater journals. Candell immigrated to America in the aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism—although he returned to Paris during 1928-30 so as to educate himself via paintings (he called Cezanne and Degas “my teachers”). At that point Candell thought of himself as a cubist, the transition from illustrator to painter influenced by Cezanne’s “direct contact with nature, still-life, figure, and all the rest of it, not on the academic level but on the level of just being confronted not so much with the idea or concepts of space or style but concrete reality and learn from it. This was my understanding that the great men had this as a kind of ante chamber to their main work” (“Oral History”). Candell immersed himself in self-guided study for 15 years, finally offering his first show at age 43. He was involved with the Whitney Studio project during the early 1930s and joined the Federal Art Project near its inception. In 1939, he contributed the political cartoon “That’s My Meat!” to a pamphlet entitled 12 Cartoons Defending the WPA by Members of the American Artists Congress. His work was shown at the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Carnegie Institute. A respected teacher, Candell began this phase of his life teaching art to traumatized veterans at the Brooklyn Navy Hospital; in 1958, he and Leo Manso started the Provincetown Workshop—an art school modeled after the Cooper Union. Candell received numerous awards for his art work, including prizes from the Museum of Modern Art and the United States Treasury Department, the Emily Lowe Award, the Lamont Prize, and the Audubon and Silvermine Awards. 1 work at the Whitney Museum of American Art. 1 work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1 work at Provincetown Art Association and Museum. 60 images at Nutshell Arts Center. His papers are at Syracuse University.

 

Works in the New Deal Collection at GVCA by Victor Candell:

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Boats
Boats

Multiple small craft boats of different shapes, sizes and colors are moored alongside a wooden dock. The water is calm enough to see a green look-out tower, the blue sky, and white clouds in its reflection. The water level, however, appears to be low. Buildings, trees, and a small town occupy the background of this piece, including a large brick church at the top of the hill. Predominantly earth-toned, including various shades of greens, browns, and reds. Two American flags and two crosses prominently stand out, suggesting patriotism and religion.

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