Elwyn Moody "Wynn" Chamberlain, (19 May 1927 â€" 27 November 2014),
was an American artist, film maker and author. Described by The New
York Times as a "pioneer realist painter", Chamberlain has two works,
Interior: Late August (1955) and The Barricade (1958), on permanent
exhibition in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.Elwyn Chamberlain
was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1927. After serving in the US
Navy from 1944 to 1946, he studied art at the University of Idaho,
where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1949. He then took a
master's degree in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, while
continuing to paint and studying with the Magic realist artist, John
Wilde.He had his first solo exhibition in Milwaukee in 1951, and three
years later he had his first New York City solo exhibition at the
Edwin Hewitt Gallery. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s his realist
landscapes, interior scenes, and allegorical paintings were exhibited
throughout the United States and in Europe. Although his work tended
to become more abstract in the 1960s, he had a major exhibition of
nude portraits at the Fischbach Gallery in 1965. The portraits were of
New York literary and artistic figures of the time. One of the most
famous of these is Poets Dressed and Undressed, two panels portraying
Joe Brainard, Frank O'Hara, Joe LeSueur and Frank Lima. The exhibition
also included a nude portrait of Allen Ginsberg who wrote the
publicity flyer for the exhibition (Chamberlain's "Nakeds") as well as
notes for the catalogue, wherein he equated Chamberlain's nudes with
the ecstatic poetry of William Blake.In the 1960s Chamberlain also
became involved in Andy Warhol's circle. In the latter part of that
decade he increasingly turned from painting to film and theatre. In
1967 he produced the premiere of Charles Ludlam's Conquest of the
Universe at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre, directed by John Vaccaro and
starring several members of Andy Warhol's Factory, including Taylor
Mead and Ultra Violet. Chamberlain also wrote, produced and directed
the film Brand X which premiered in 1970. The film, a satire on
American television commercials, included Taylor Mead, Candy Darling,
Abbie Hoffman, Baby Jane Holzer and Sam Shepard in the cast.
was an American artist, film maker and author. Described by The New
York Times as a "pioneer realist painter", Chamberlain has two works,
Interior: Late August (1955) and The Barricade (1958), on permanent
exhibition in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.Elwyn Chamberlain
was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1927. After serving in the US
Navy from 1944 to 1946, he studied art at the University of Idaho,
where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1949. He then took a
master's degree in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, while
continuing to paint and studying with the Magic realist artist, John
Wilde.He had his first solo exhibition in Milwaukee in 1951, and three
years later he had his first New York City solo exhibition at the
Edwin Hewitt Gallery. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s his realist
landscapes, interior scenes, and allegorical paintings were exhibited
throughout the United States and in Europe. Although his work tended
to become more abstract in the 1960s, he had a major exhibition of
nude portraits at the Fischbach Gallery in 1965. The portraits were of
New York literary and artistic figures of the time. One of the most
famous of these is Poets Dressed and Undressed, two panels portraying
Joe Brainard, Frank O'Hara, Joe LeSueur and Frank Lima. The exhibition
also included a nude portrait of Allen Ginsberg who wrote the
publicity flyer for the exhibition (Chamberlain's "Nakeds") as well as
notes for the catalogue, wherein he equated Chamberlain's nudes with
the ecstatic poetry of William Blake.In the 1960s Chamberlain also
became involved in Andy Warhol's circle. In the latter part of that
decade he increasingly turned from painting to film and theatre. In
1967 he produced the premiere of Charles Ludlam's Conquest of the
Universe at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre, directed by John Vaccaro and
starring several members of Andy Warhol's Factory, including Taylor
Mead and Ultra Violet. Chamberlain also wrote, produced and directed
the film Brand X which premiered in 1970. The film, a satire on
American television commercials, included Taylor Mead, Candy Darling,
Abbie Hoffman, Baby Jane Holzer and Sam Shepard in the cast.
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