Sunday, September 27, 2015

Julian Ritter Biography Sept 27, 2015



JULIAN RITTER BIOGRAPHY
By  GREG AUTRY

  Sept 27, 2015

              Julian Ritter (1909 - 2000) He was an artist of worldwide acclaim. Revered by those who loved his work, reviled by those he shunned. Born in 1909 he spent much of his childhood sketching and drawing around the docks in Hamburg, Germany and dreaming  of sailing the seas. 

Portrait of Julian Ritter - by Gene Forssell  1958


He immigrated  from Germany to New York in 1924 and attended the Chicago Art Institute briefly.  Julian Ritter studied with Stanley Reckless and graduated from Art Center College in Los Angeles, in 1932. He began showing his art in LA while still a student.  In 1939, he was hired to paint a 90' mural for the Mines and Minerals Building, at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco.


1939 Mines & Minerals Mural - Golden Gate International Exposition


Caplan Collection

  


          By 1941 he was showing  at the prestigious  Gallery of Modern Art  and Newhouse Gallery in New York City. Although his personality was ill suited for the sophisticated New York art scene, his work was admired and  very well received by the critics and public alike. 

Bimbos 365 Club - San Francisco


 He was prolific. Extraordinary as a draughtsman and colorist with a flair for the dramatic.  His early work demonstrated a style of rich vibrant color and swift purposeful brushwork. His later works would develop a Master's touch of glazing skin tones for women that created a luminosity not seen since the Masters of the Great Renaissance.  

Portrait of Joni Morgan




            Julian was an outgoing, vibrant man who had a passion for art, and a zest for life. Those who knew him spoke of his `presence'.  His studio always smelled of turpentine and oil paints, along with wafting pipe smoke and often cheap perfume of a naked model.  Mozart and Bach always played on his turntable.  This vibrant personality was a shield for the man who had little trust for others  and was driven to create his art.

Mr Whimsey - Silver Slipper Collection


The 1950's would see a remarkable string of work produced. Hired to produce work for multiple venues and galleries throughout the United States.  Showing at the Swiss Chalet Gallery  in the Bismarck Hotel, Chicago, Julian attended the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus, and is inspired to start the Mr. Whimsy Clown series. In San Francisco, he is hired to paint a Nautical theme of Mermaids and King Neptune, including a 30' wall mural, at Bimbos 365 Club.  The paintings and mural are still at Bimbo's Club today.

Bimbos 365 Club - San Francisco


Bimbos 365 Club - San Francisco


            A trip to Mexico mid-decade saw a preponderance of masterful landscapes and portraits of the local people whom he grew to love. What would set the tone for the rest of his career, a Gay 90's themed series of paintings, which would become the Silver Slipper Collection, was created over years and  hung at The Silver Slipper Casino and Gambling Hall, in Las Vegas from 1950 until 1988.

Portrait of Janet Boyd - Collection of Greg Autry

Las Vegas Fantasy - Collection of Greg Autry

Las Vegas Follies  -  Silver Slipper Collection - Entry Piece
 
            Throughout his lifetime his paintings have been shown in hundreds, perhaps  thousands, of galleries around the world.  In 1963 his painting `Bachelor Housekeeping' became a part of the Permanent Collection at the famed de Young Museum in San Francisco.  

            Raised in depravation amongst `drunks and whores' Julian always had a fondness for the poor and the near-do-wells of the world. He disdained those of wealth and success, the very people he most needed to support his life as an artist. He professed he was "just a whore" for selling his work.

            Julian had several lovers during his lifetime. Physically strong with disarming charm, he had a passionate fire and sexual drive. He had only two women in his life, that he truly loved beyond all else.   Hilde Sabena  Meyer-Radon and Julian were married  in April 1943, while he served in the US Army.  Hilde and Julian would have two children, Christine 1947 and Michael 1948. Hilde inspired Julian, but in 1966 the unthinkable happened. After two years suffering with cancer, Hilde passed away.   Julian was distraught and could not comprehend his loss. He became a shut-in and a drunk.

Portrait of Laurie kokx



            Over a year went by, Julian  began to recount his childhood dreams to sail the world and paint.  Pulled out of a nightmarish depression, he began painting to raise money for his new adventure.  He sold the Santa Barbara home he and Hilde had bought, to buy a forty-five foot Yawl, The Galilee.  One last commission would secure the funds he needed to start his trip. That commission was for Adele Kokx, for whom Julian painted a portrait of  Adele's daughter, an introverted yet  beguilingly beautiful  seventeen year old, Laurie KokxJulian and Laurie developed a camaraderie and connection in their short time of portrait settings. 

Julian Ritter


            In  February 1968 Julian (Fifty-nine)  set the sails of The Galilee southward from Santa Barbara. Months later, in Acapulco after trading paintings for  food and board, as well as booze and women, the bar owner  was irritated at the attention the murals received in lieu of her "girls." 



Puntarenas Costa Rica
When Julian could not pay her upon demand, he was thrown into jail. Julian called the only number he could find, Laurie Kokx.  The headstrong Laurie persuaded one of Julian's patrons to provide his private plane and crew to fly her to Mexico to bail Julian out of th Mexican jail.



            In Acapulco, Laurie announced she would sail with Julian around the world. Laurie was mesmerized by his strong virile presence and over-the-top personality. She admired his confidence and creativity. They became lovers and soul mates sailing the seas. They would sail to Costa Rica where they would spend time, Julian painting and Laurie preparing for the next leg of the journey.  Laurie blossomed in an unbridled burst of hormones and youth. Julian drank in her flower and was emboldened. All who saw them together thought how they truly loved each other.  After six months in Puntarenas, they embarked on the next leg of the adventure, sailing west to French Polynesia and the Society Islands.  

            They spent a year in the Tahitian Islands, all the while Julian was painting and sending  work home for shows on the Mainland. He and Laurie were happy and free to do as they dreamed. His works sold out consistently, and he was asked for more and more paintings.  Julian amassed a large portfolio of his best works. These exquisitely painted  works he saved to take home himself.  In June of 1970, Julian and Laurie, along with a young German crewmate, set sail for Hawaii. Revived with Laurie's companionship and love, Julian had made peace with Hilde's passing.

Small portrait of Laurie Kokx
            The Galilee would head out for the last leg and the most arduous part of their journey,  bound for Honolulu. Within weeks trouble developed, and soon the Galilee was in distress.  Battered and beaten by a strong hurricane, mast broken , and all electronic equipment aboard disabled, the crew drifted for eighty-nine days. The last forty-nine days, with little food and water.  Miraculously,  literally hours before death, they were spotted and rescued by the supply ship, USS Niagara Falls, and taken to Honolulu. Sadly most of the paintings were lost at sea. 
Galilee in Distress- being rescued by USS Niagara Falls



Julian Ritters Map of Tahiti

Aboard the Galilee - Ritter Estate


            After a month in Hawaii, Laurie and Julian would fly home and begin their life together in Santa Barbara. Settling in Summerland where Julian would paint and greet his patrons and customers.  Laurie thrived for awhile, encouraging Julian to paint about his visions while lost at sea.  Julian would undergo a resurgence in his work,  painting with deep passion personal works of his visions, and his transcendence from deaths door. Julian's biggest despair was  the affects the  trip had on Laurie. At the time they were rescued, Dr. Phillip Becker would give no status as to "the girl." Later, he  declared Laurie had been only a couple of hours from death, and was indeed fortunate to have survived. 





Winfriend, Laurie, and Julian - USS Niagara Falls
            Demand for Julian's work continued to soar.  Julian declared himself  "done" with dealers and galleries, intending to sell only to his own customers and patrons.  The galleries wanted his work even more. Some renowned galleries resorted to forging work and signing his name.  Long before the marketing of "signed limited editions" came into vogue, International Art Publishing signed an exclusive deal to reproduce several of his nudes and clowns in large prints.  Gorham Company paid him handsomely to reproduce several works as collector plates  and statuary.  His fame from the Silver Slipper Collection grew, with the theft of a painting from the Silver Slipper, and later with Howard Hughes in litigation, in part,  over the Silver Slipper Art Collection.

Portrait of Howard Hughes







            In 1972 Julian attended a gallery show on Maryland Parkway in Las Vegas. Julian was taken with a tall, lanky redhead, who introduced herself as a showgirl at the Silver SlipperJanet Boyd would become muse and model for Julian and would pose for a "Big Portrait."  Julian's renaissance of Las Vegas works began anew.  
Portrait of Janet Boyd - Collection of Greg Autry
`The Portrait of Janet'   is now the most `iconic  showgirl' painting in Las Vegas history. The gorgeous showgirl would pose for Julian hundreds of times, including settings with her infant daughter Bianca.  In 1984, Janet would be instrumental in coordinating what would be Julian's last big  Las  Vegas  painting,  the Las Vegas Fantasy. A commissioned piece featuring  four showgirls and a clown.

Las Vegas Fantasy - Collection of Greg Autry

Julian continued painting his personal works from his memories aboard the Galilee as well as painting what his customers wanted, the Nudes, Clowns, and the Showgirls.  He ultimately chose to rely on sales to a handful of patrons, and only one dealer he would trust, Howard Morseburg.  

Howard Morseburg Gallery Brochure

            Over the years Laurie's condition would slowly deteriorate. She became lost in her own world, diminished in spirit and at a loss for purpose.  Briefly, Laurie opened a Flower Shop in Summerland that seemed to uplift her.  But sadly, in the summer of 1984, Julian would discover her in coitus  with their gardener. Julian devastated by her betrayal declared their relationship over.  He sold everything, including the amazing Torito Road  home and studio, in Summerland, and moved to Hawaii to live with his son.


            Upon moving to Maui, Julian spent the first seven months building a large and amazing two story studio to work in. The fates again clamored for Julian when in December of 1985 Julian suffered a massive stroke.  He would live for another fifteen years. He tried, but never really painted after the stroke. He taught  classes as best he could, and sold a few paintings. He did make one trip with his nurse, to Las Vegas, to sell paintings.  He spent most of his time reading and convalescing . His son, Michael, would take care of his father dutifully until Julian passed away, March 4, 2000.  Laurie passed away mysteriously in 2006. After the boat trip aboard the Galilee, she cajoled Julian to paint, to keep him from drinking, and to create a purpose for him. In her own life thereafter, she could find no defense of the bottle, and no purpose to go on.   She would neither take care of herself, nor stop drinking.

            Through a legacy of adventure, Julian pursued his passion for creating art and beauty at all cost. He shunned the ` Big Time Art World ' to pursue his vision as an artist and to paint what he was called to create. In talent and in execution, one of the great artists of the Twentieth Century.

Watch for the upcoming Biography, and Screenplay, currently in the works.  Read additional Stories about Julian's Life, Art, and Adventures,  at the Julian Ritter website, and on Facebook. 

Images provided from various sources used with permission. COPYRIGHT HOLDERS RETAIN ALL RIGHTS. 









Friday, September 18, 2015

MY NEW BLOG ABOUT JULIAN RITTER





 Las Vegas Follies
Silver Slipper Collection

This is a new Blog, and a supplement to the Julian Ritter Website.

My name is Greg Autry. I was a friend, a Patron, and a collector of Julian's work. I am currently writing a book about Julian's Life and Art, and living in Las Vegas while doing research for the book.

Greg Autry                                                              

model Yvonne Autry and Julian Ritter*
Torito Rd Studio, Summerland CA, circa 1983

As a businessman for 35 years, I was a General Contractor and Real Estate Developer. During that time I met Julian, and began a relationship with a man I grew to love dearly, and which would change my life forever.


Mr Whimsey
Silver Slipper Collection

I am retired now and my new "career" is that of an artist, a writer, and a photographer. I paint myself, in oils. I am a writer, writing the book and hopefully a screenplay about Julian, as well as a photojournalist doing articles for LA Splash Magazine, and others.  I'm also a professional photographer doing commercial fashion, editorial, and Events [I have individual Blogs and a website regarding my photography].

My photography and my art are focused primarily the Beauty of Women. Julian and I had that in common.


Portrait of Showgirl Janet Boyd*
purchased from the artist

I do Appraisals and Authentications of Julian work. I consult with Appraisers from around the country who often contact me because of my expertise.  As a painter myself, who sat by Julian and learned, while he painted, and as a Collector and Dealer in Art who attends Galleries and functions so as to know the Art Market, I have a unique Expertise when it comes to Julian's Art.  I do charge a fee for Appraisals, which are very reasonable.

I do Appraisals for original oil paintings, by Julian Ritter. No others.


Las Vegas Fantasy*
Private Commission

I'm also one of the largest private collectors in the world, of original Julian Ritter paintings.  My collection consist of paintings I commissioned Julian to paint, or that I purchased directly from Julian, or lastly, the Silver Slipper Collection, owned previously by Howard Hughes and which hung from 1950 through 1988 at the Silver Slipper Casino in Las Vegas.

I also know and work closely with the Julian Ritter Estate.


I will be doing regular Post here about Julian's Art, and things related to Julian.  Please do send me your comments , suggestions, and let me know what you think, anything you would like to see or know about.  I only require people be courteous and professional. You can see more on my Facebook Pages, as well as my website.

*Please feel free to Pin and Share Photos. No Commercial usage in either implied nor granted