Joseph Tomanek (Czechoslovakian/American 1889-1974) is well-listed and well-collected. Numerous works by the artist have been sold at public sales , with his highest reported price of $10,200.00. He was born on a farm in Straznice, Czechoslovakia (in Southeastern Moravia) He studied art at the School of Design in Prague. He emigrated to America in 1910. He lived in Chicago and was active mainly in Indiana and Illinois. An old biography in The Palette and Chisel (June 1929) tells of Joseph carving his own violin out of pine wood, and he demonstrated some talent in music. His actual profession was interior designer but he took more art classes at the Art Institute of Chicago under a compatriot, Antonin Sterba (1875-1963), who had been trained in the Paris academies.
His most notable and sought after works are of nudes. Tomanek wrote about the difficulties he had when posing nude models in Chicago: "In Paris you can rent little garden studios and pose your models there in privacy. Here, if I work out of doors, I have to pose the girls in bathing suits." (Paul Gilbert, Sunday Chicago Sun, 15 July 1945). Reportedly Tomanek followed the old eclectic method of creating an ideal nude, combining the best features from various models. His favorite model was his wife, a small brunette whom he met when she modeled at the Art Institute of Chicago.
He was a member of the Bohemian Artist Club, Association of Chicago Painters, and Sculptors, and the Chicago Gallery Association. His work is included in the collection of the Vanderpoel Art Association (Chicago). He exhibited from the 1910s-40s, including exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Georgia Museum of Art.
Sources:
Paul Gilbert, Sunday Chicago Sun, July 15, 1945
Peter Hastings Falk (Editor), Who Was Who in American Art

This is an excellent example of Tomanek's best work. It is sensuous and impressionistic.

Country of Origin: U. S. A.

Artist: Joseph Tomanek (Czechoslovakian/American 1889-1974)

Medium: Oil on Artist Board.

Title: "Nude With Red Hair."

Size: 16 Inches by 12 Inches. Framed 22 1/2 Inches by 18 3/8 Inches.

Signed: en verso Stamped "Estate of Joseph Tomanek American 1889-1974".

Condition: Very Good.

***Please note that the physical colors of this item may vary from the pictures in the listing, given the quality of the camera and the lighting.